Rose's story continues Last Sacrifice
by vampyregirl27
Summary: Join Rose and her friends as they travel the U.S. to clear Rose's name, protect and reveal the newest Dragomir, and resolve the love triangle. Resolution of all story lines. Surprising twists. Some M scenes.
1. Prologue

This is my fantasy about how the next book in the series would go. I do not own any of these characters. I quote 1 passage from SB page 487 in chapter 6. This quote and the characters belong to Richelle Mead.

Thanks everyone for the reivews so far, they make it fun to continue writing. I have to say I love this website. I just heard about it last Wednesday when I was telling someone that I was so impatient for the next book to come out that I had started writing my own story to tide me over, I am glad to hear that those who have read it, like it.

Thanks for telling me about this website Cristy!

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Prologue

Abe Mazur was a Moroi, a good vampire, and he just happened to be my father. A fact that I, Rose Hathaway, just learned in May after I returned to St. Vladimir's to finish my high school education and my guardian training.

I had met Abe in Siberia a couple months ago when I was searching for Dimitri, my mentor, who was turned into a Strigoi during a battle at St. Vladimir's Academy. Sydney, the Alchemist, had told me that in Russia among the dhampir, Moroi and Alchemist communities, Abe's nickname was Zmey, a mythical giant snake creature.

Alchemists are something else I learned about. They are human and have connections all over the world. They help Moroi and dhampirs clean up their messes, especially dead Strigoi. What do they get out of it? Well they get a charmed golden tattoo on the side of their face that prevents them from telling humans about us, and gives them longer, healthier lives almost like a dhampir.

My mother, Janine Hathaway was a dhampir. Dhampir's are half human and half Moroi vampire. You would think that dhampirs and Moroi would create a ¾ vampire and ¼ human, but it doesn't work that way. Dhampirs don't have fangs and they don't drink blood, but we are strong, rarely get sick, and have excellent senses. It is for this reason that most dhampirs go to school to train to be guardians, or body guards for the Moroi to protect them from Strigoi. Strigoi are evil undead vampires that kill when they eat. They prefer to drink Moroi and dhampir blood, but in a pinch will use humans. Moroi use voluntary human feeders and drink just a little blood every day. The dhampirs go through years of training at an academy to learn how to be guardians and kill Strigoi.

Speaking of Strigoi, the love of my life, my soul mate Dimitri Bolikov, was turned into a Strigoi in the spring, but Lissa, Christian and I were able to bring him back to life. Unfortunately now Dimitri wants nothing to do with me.

We staked him, well actually just Lissa staked him, through the heart with a silver stake charmed with one of the five elemental magics that Moroi can wield. Spirit. There are very few Moroi who can wield spirit and my best friend and bond-mate Vasilisa Dragomir is one of them.

I recently graduated from St. Vladimir's, received my promise marks and moved to the Royal Court to receive my assignment as a guardian. Before I ran off to Siberia to find and kill Dimitri, I was supposed to be Lissa's guardian. It was an obvious choice for me to be her guardian, because we were psychically bound to each other. This bond was created when Lissa brought me back to life after a car accident that killed Lissa's family. That brief death is also the reason that I am shadow-kissed. When Lissa's family died she became the last person in her family line and she got the title of Princess. Despite our connection Queen Tatiana did not want me to be the last Dragomir Princess's guardian.

Just when I thought my life was returning back to normal, I was charged with the murder of Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. She was like the president of the United States to the Moroi community or like the Queen of England is to the British.

After spending the entire day in a jail cell not knowing what was happening, I was whisked into the courtroom for a hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to bring me to trial. Unfortunately, whoever set me up did a good job, because they had plenty of evidence against me.


	2. Chapter 1

1

I walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Abe, who had represented me in court, had his arm around my shoulders and on either side we were flanked by a guardian. Dimitri waited outside the door catching my eye as I walked past. He kept his face blank of all emotion, but his soft brown eyes were filled with concern. I doubted anyone else looking at him would notice the emotion hidden beyond the stoic face.

My heart ached to run and bury myself in his arms. My mind flashed to the fight in the coffee shop. Dimitri had fought the Queen's Guard for me. I wasn't in a position to read anything in his actions, but I sure wanted to believe that fighting for me meant something.

I couldn't see my friends in the crowded hallway. All the Moroi and dhampirs that had attended my hearing were now dispersing and going back to their normal routines. The Guardians ushered us quickly down the hall, through the crowd toward the exit. With all the people in the hall, I was actually surprised that no one was approaching me, considering everyone thought I was guilty of murdering the queen.

I guess I thought too soon, because suddenly a Moroi woman that I didn't know stomped toward me. She was angry and her fangs were very visible as she screamed at me. "Queen Tatiana was a Moroi Royal! How dare you kill her like she was a Strigoi. You are a killer! A blood hungry killer. You are as bad as a Strigoi! You deserve to be executed!"

One of the guardians in the hall ushered the woman away from me so that we could continue our journey out of the building. I tried not to look around anymore and kept my eyes toward the floor. What the woman said upset me.

"Abe you won't let them execute me. Right?" I asked with a grim hopefulness as we made our way out of the grand building and down the stairs.

He responded carefully, keeping his voice low so that only I could hear. "That will never happen Rose. Don't even worry. I won't let it. I promise."

The guardians were leading me back to my jail cell in Guardians headquarters. They moved from flanking positions to directly behind Abe and me when we descended the stairs. It was nearing the end of the vampire day, which meant it was the middle of the human night, approaching dawn. As we crossed the courtyard the sky was filled with a million stars. I could see a pre dawn light grey sky starting to peek up from the horizon. At any other time this would have been a beautiful night, but with the grim outlook on my future I couldn't enjoy it.

Abe squeezed my shoulder and when I glanced at him he winked. I was thinking about what the wink meant when he slipped his arm off my shoulders. We now walked side by side. He slowly reached down and held my wrists with one hand, pretending for the guard that he was now holding my hand, and with the other produced a key. With as little noise as possible he unlocked the handcuffs. He slipped them off my wrists, but made sure I kept my hands out in front of me as if they were still bound.

I caught movement in my peripheral vision and it was very difficult for me to not automatically act, like I had been trained, but I stayed calm and continued walking toward the guardian building. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Several men dressed in black attacked my two guards and as soon as the fighting started Abe grabbed my arm and we started running. I never looked back to see the outcome of the attack. I hoped they were not killing the two guardians, because then I really would have blood on my hands.

Abe led me to the Royal Court airstrip behind the cluster of buildings that made up the small city part of the Royal Court. There waiting on the tarmac was a large military looking helicopter. It was the kind that held a bunch of people and had no windows in the back. It made me wonder what small army Abe had hired to facilitate this jailbreak. The door was open and Abe pushed me inside and jumped in behind me. I could tell there were other people on the benches across from me, but I couldn't see who they were. I had the strangest feeling that I knew some of them, but I assumed they were more of Abe's employees and I dismissed the thought.

The helicopter was running and it was really loud inside. Someone handed me ear protection gear and I slipped it on my head. It helped reduce the noise, but felt a little bulky and awkward. A few seconds later the men that had attacked my jail guards joined us and we lifted off the ground.

My heart was beating double time. I tried to regulate my breathing and calm down after the run from the courtyard, but that coupled with the excitement of the escape, the helicopter ride, and my brain was keeping time with my heart. A million thoughts were racing through my head. Abe had just pulled off the stunt of the century. I guess my mother was right. I did get some of my traits from my father after all. Now what? I tried to look at Abe and get a clue what was going to happen next, but it was so dark in the helicopter that I could barely see his face next to mine.

I still had the note from Queen Tatiana, that Ambrose had slipped me in the courtroom shoved, in my pocket. She had known that Lissa had a half sibling out in the world somewhere and she had instructed me to find this person. This would give Lissa her rightful seat on the council which was now blocked by the Quorum, an old law that stated there had to be at least two members of a royal family to have a vote.

I allowed myself a moment to slip into Lissa's head, through our psychic bond, and see if the news of my jail break was getting around already. She was sitting in the lounge area of Moroi guest housing with Christian Ozera, her boyfriend, again, as of this morning. He was also from a royal family, but his had some Strigoi skeletons in the closet that made him an outcast among the other royals. His relationship with Princess Vasilisa Dragomir seemed to be helping to improve his reputation.

"What are we going to do to help Rose get out of this?" she asked in a pleading worry filled voice. I felt her worry and helplessness coming through our bond.

Christian wrapped her in his arms and whispered, "I don't know, but we'll think of something. Don't worry. Rose always manages to get out of trouble. Which, come to think of it, is a good thing considering trouble always seems to follow her around." Christian was trying to comfort Lissa, but of course his snarky self snuck into the conversation as usual.

Adrian Ivashkov, another royal and my current boyfriend, buzzed in with the news of my escape. He had been on his way to the guardians building to see if they would let him in to visit me when the alarms had gone off.

"I am not sure what happened. I just know that her guardians were knocked out and she and Abe disappeared."

Oh, good. They just knocked out my guards, knowing that made me feel a little better. Lissa pressed Adrian for more, but he didn't know any more details. Lissa was filled with emotion. She was happy that I escaped, sad that she wasn't with me, and worried that I may get hurt. Christian sensed her worry and wrapped a comforting arm around her and kissed her cheek.

Adrian hadn't realized that the two of them had gotten back together and a spark of understanding flitted across his features. "Well, I'll go and give you two some alone time." His eyes sparkled and then darkened once again. "If I hear anything new I will call you. Will you do the same?"

They agreed, but tried to protest his leaving. He wouldn't have it. He said goodbye and as soon as he was gone Christian and Lissa decided to go to Lissa's room for some privacy. They didn't know any more useful information and I definitely didn't want to be in Lissa's head when she and Christian made it to her room. The feelings coming through the bond right now were ones of desire and the need to re-connect.

They had been apart since Avery Lazar used compulsion on Lissa while I was in Siberia. I hadn't been around to protect Lissa and she had fallen prey to another spirit user, who befriended her and Adrian in my absence. No one knew she was a spirit user and she used compulsion to make Lissa turn into a party animal and ruin her reputation.

Lissa got drunk and had a kiss with an ex-boyfriend. That incident broke her and Christian up and now they had a lot of time to make up for. Several months actually. I was happy for them both. They deserved to have their relationship work, but I sure as hell didn't want to be there for the reunion sex. I let my connection go and returned to my mind in the helicopter.

I was about to yell a question to Abe about where we were headed, but I didn't need to ask, because we started to descend. We landed at a small private airstrip somewhere in Pennsylvania, I guessed, because we hadn't been in the air long enough to leave the state. When we got out of the helicopter, I could see a small private jet about a hundred feet from where we landed. Abe wrapped his hand around my wrist and led the group as we approached the plane at a jog.

We all boarded the plane and it was at that point that Abe let go of my wrist and went to consult with the pilot. "Go grab a seat Rose." He told me as he walked toward the cockpit. "We are taking off in a few minutes."

I made my way down the aisle of the small plane and chose a window seat toward the back. I was buckling my seat belt when I heard someone approach down the aisle and stop at the seat next to mine.

"Is this seat taken?" The deep silky voice asked.

It was a voice that I would have known anywhere. Yet when I looked up I was still amazed to see Dimitri standing there. I was so caught off guard that I couldn't even answer him right away. The look in Dimitri's eyes changed from a look of hope- to concern -to hurt and he started to walk away. I jumped up, forgetting that I had already buckled my seat belt and was jarred back into my seat. I made a yelp of frustration, flailed my arms in the air and hit the side of the airplane pretty hard with my hand, but I didn't feel any pain. Without taking my eyes off of his retreating back, I desperately tried to undo my seatbelt.

The commotion was enough to catch his attention and he turned just his head to look back at me. Our eyes met and locked. I finally found my voice and was able to say what my eyes were already conveying to Dimitri. "Come back! Of course you can sit here." I pleaded. I must have looked as flustered as I felt floundering in my seat, because a small smile appeared on Dimitri's face as he spun in place to come back and sit next to me.

I stared at him and so many questions popped into my head that I couldn't pick one to ask. In my defense the last time we had spoken was in the coffee shop when I had been arrested for the Queen's murder. Right before I was arrested Dimitri had noticed the bite mark on my neck from spending the night with Adrian. I told him that it was none of his business. That it was between Adrian and me. To my dismay he had agreed.

That night spent with Adrian was actually a result of a fight that Dimitri and I had during the church service earlier that morning, where he told me that he no longer loved me. He had said _Love fades. Mine has._ I was so hurt that I ran out in the middle of the church service and spent the remainder of the day alone and in my room and despairing over Dimitri's words. I had no choice but to believe them.

Adrian had come to find me, after my usual bedtime, and in my grief I had initiated sex. The bite was the substitute for having sex, because I refused to do it without protection, which we didn't have. By some genetic fluke a dhampir- dhampir pairing couldn't result in children. Dhampirs could only get pregnant by Moroi -which Adrian is- and I definitely did not want to get pregnant at this point in my life.

So you can see why I was a little confused after Dimitri told me his love had faded why he was now on my father's plane asking me if he could sit next to me.

He settled in to the seat in that graceful way that he always moved. His warm hand covered mine on the armrest and his long beautiful fingers wrapped around my own.

I looked up in surprise. "I don't under-"

I couldn't finish my sentence because Dimitri put two fingers over my lips and said, "Shhh. I will explain if you will allow me to."

He stopped talking and looked me in the eyes waiting patiently for my response. His fingers still lightly rested on my lips, so I just nodded. He moved the hand away from my face and found my other hand so we sat a little sideways in our seats facing each other.

"Roza." he began. It only took that one word for my heart to leap into my throat and start beating wildly. Roza was Russian for Rose and Dimitri only used it as a term of affection.

"First I wanted to apologize for how I have acted these past few weeks. I thought I was doing what was best for you. I truly believed that you were better off without having me in your life. In the Church when I lied to you and told you that my love for you had faded, well it wasn't until I saw your face that I realized I was actually hurting you more now than I did when I was a Strigoi."

He paused and looked at me making sure I was getting all this. The look in his eyes was nothing I had ever seen in his eyes before. I think it was fear - optimism – passion - desperation – suffering – frustration - all swirled together.

Like a tidal wave the feelings that I had tried to bury yesterday rushed to the surface at once threatening to drown me. My heart was pounding so loudly in my ears I could barely hear him continuing his speech.

"Now that I am healed and I actually know what I am doing…my choices and my actions…Roza, I was hurting you, and for this I have no excuse. The pain and anguish I saw in your face woke me up to the realization of how I was acting. How stupid I was being. I am so sorry that I hurt you. I love you. Can you forgive me?"

My jaw must have dropped open, because Dimitri let go of one of my hands and placed his warm hand under my chin and closed my mouth. He moved his hand to the side of my face, and his fingers softly caressed my cheek. The electricity flowed from his fingertips across my skin and I couldn't even think straight. His fingers brushed my hair and he twirled a few strands through his fingers. My breath caught in my throat.

The look on his face told me he was amazed that I let him give his speech without interruption. His lips curved into a small smile and he gazed at me. "Okay, now you can talk."

I didn't want to talk, though. I undid my seatbelt and moved onto his lap. I cupped my hands on either side of his face and gently pressed my lips into his.

I have been waiting over four months to press my mouth on his warm lips. I don't know how I could have fooled myself into believing that Strigoi Dimitri was the real Dimitri. It felt like sparks of electricity raced down my body from my lips to the tips of my fingers and my toes. My soul stood at attention. I felt so alive and so loved just from the gentle press of my lips on his.

He wrapped his arms around me and returned the kiss with all the passion that had been there that night in the cabin…and then some. I was so elated, relieved….and excited (in more ways than one.) I just felt overwhelmed. All my emotions felt so raw and so near the surface, I started crying. I couldn't help myself.

Dimitri pulled back from the kiss and crooned "Oh Roza, I hurt you and I am so sorry. I love you, I have always loved you, and I never stopped." Looking into his face I was amazed to see tears sliding down his beautiful cheeks. I couldn't even register the emotions that were flitting through his eyes they changed so quickly.

I smiled and reached up to wipe his tears away. Our faces were barely inches from each other and we just stared at each other. Then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled my cheek against his chest. I felt so safe and warm tucked against his strong muscled body listening to his heart beat. He had lost a little weight since the last time he held me, but he was still my amazing Dimitri.

I suddenly realized that I had not spoken since he made his confession. I pulled back and looked him right in his gorgeous brown eyes. With as much admonishment as I could muster I said, "It's about time you came to your senses, Comrade!"

Dimitri looked shocked for a split second and then smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face. I loved seeing that smile. Back at the academy I saw him smile almost like that, just not that big, only a handful of times. Unbeknownst to Dimitri I used to try different things to see if I could get him to smile like that.

"I love you too." I giggled. GIGGLED? Wow, what is wrong with me? I never giggle. What the heck, it felt good to giggle at this moment so I went with it. Apparently it was contagious, because Dimitri started laughing too, that warm caressing laugh that tickled things low in my body, though I am not sure if he was laughing at me or with me.

The plane started moving down the runway and I reluctantly sat back in my seat and fastened my seatbelt. Even though I moved into my own seat I didn't let go of Dimitri and he didn't let go of me either. We leaned close and touched our foreheads together.

"You have no idea how much I missed you." I whispered as I brushed my lips across his cheek.

"I think I do" he said sadly "and here I was making it all worse trying to make your life better."

"Okay, that is enough of that wallowing. I told you weeks ago that I forgive you for everything. I meant everything. Understand?" I put as much of my mean threatening attitude into my voice as I could muster. I even added a little evil eye.

Dimitri rewarded me with another great big smile that lit up his face. Did I mention I loved that smile?


	3. Chapter 2

2

The fasten seatbelt sign went out and we both undid our belts and I was in his arms once again. I could barely breathe I was so happy to be in his arms, and I almost forgot that we weren't alone. That is until someone walked down the aisle toward our seats. The person stopped at Dimitri's seat and cleared her throat. I looked up into my mother's brown eyes.

"Mom, what are you doing here? You weren't at the trial. How did you get on Abe's plane?" Could this day get any weirder? Maybe this was all a dream and I was going to wake up soon. Although some parts I would rather not wake up from.

"I tried to get to the Royal Court as soon as I heard that they accused you of the Queen's murder, but I couldn't get there in time for the hearing they held it so quickly. So Abe had me meet you all here. My plane arrived about five minutes before you made it here on the helicopter."

Dimitri being polite as always looked up at my mother and said, "You two need to talk. Janine, please take my seat and I will go see if Abe needs anything from me."

My mother put a hand on Dimitri's shoulder before he could even think about moving. "I will have nothing of the sort. There will be plenty of time for talking tomorrow. I want you two to just enjoy each other tonight," she said with a knowing smile.

I seriously must be dreaming. I pinched my arm as hard as I could. Ouch! Nope. I am awake. I looked up again trying to gain an understanding of this new side of my mother that I had never seen before. I mean we made some strides into forging our relationship the last time we were together, but this new side I didn't understand.

"Honestly, Rose, you look like you have never seen me before!" she said with disbelief lacing every word.

Wow, I guess that was written all over my face. I really need to work on my guardian blank face. "I haven't. Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" I replied before I could think it through completely.

She simply sighed and shook her head. "Honestly Rose, I just couldn't believe how blind I have been. I should have known something was going on with you two. I blamed you for behavior with other boys that you weren't even engaged in. I said things that in retrospect would hurt you without realizing they hurt, because I have been oblivious about who you really are. Your behavior over the last few months makes much more sense now that your father explained your relationship with Dimitri and shared some of what happened in Baia."

I was trying to make her feel better when I said, "Of course you shouldn't have known Mom. Dimitri and I had to keep it a secret until after graduation. Don't blame yourself." I was surprised though that my father kept everything that had happened in Russia a secret until now. My parents had seen each other at my graduation. He could have easily shared with her then, but obviously he didn't. That upped my trust factor with Abe a little.

"Well, if it makes any of this better, I wanted to tell you two that I approve. Have fun tonight kids, because tomorrow is going to be all work." And with that she walked away.

"And here you were more afraid of my mother finding out about us than you were of…" I faltered realizing what I was about to say. The last thing I wanted to do was remind Dimitri of the day he became a Strigoi.

He looked at me and finished my sentence. "… fighting the Strigoi that day back at St. Vladimir's. Rose, we need to be able to talk about all that has happened without worrying that we are hurting each other. It is the only way we can move on in our relationship."

We just started to get lost in each other again when another shadow loomed over us. This time we looked up to see Tasha Ozera beaming at us. She looked beautiful, with her ebony hair styled loosely around her smiling face. "Dimka, I am so glad to have you home and well."

"I am glad to be home. Tasha, I need to thank you for making my rescue a possibility. If it wasn't for you teaching Christian how to use his magic defensively and being a role model to Lissa, I may not be here at all." Dimitri said thankfully reaching out to squeeze her hand.

Tasha winked in my direction. "And Dimka? Thank God you finally gave in to that stubborn Russian pride and admitted you love this woman!" She was so happy for us and our- not so secret anymore - relationship that she beamed at the two of us. She bent and gave us each a peck on the cheek and then scooted off down the aisle back to her seat.

I hadn't expected that from Tasha. After all she had been interested in Dimitri as more than a friend and a guardian. Last winter she had asked him to be her guardian and made it clear that the opportunity came with 'benefits', which included children, because Tasha was Moroi. Dimitri politely turned her down without explanation. He couldn't tell her the reason was that he loved me.

Finally alone again, or as alone as two people can get on a small private jet, Dimitri and I started exploring each other's mouths with our tongues. If I thought our lips touching were electric, this was like a nuclear explosion inside my body. My hands started to explore Dimitri's muscled chest and his hands were sliding under my shirt and up the bare skin of my back.

"Get a room." Abe whispered his head just inches from mine and Dimitri's. We almost smacked heads with him, we separated so quickly. We were so engrossed in each other we hadn't heard him sneaking up.

Abe stood and crooked his finger, motioning us to follow him toward the back of the plane. We passed through a curtain into the steward's area. Abe stopped at a door on the other side and took out a key and unlocked it.

The door swung open revealing a small room with a large bed inside. There were a few dimly lit wall sconces on either side of the bed and a comfy black leather arm chair in the corner. The bed was opulently decorated with a crimson velvet duvet and overloaded with black satin pillows.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Abe. "I don't even want to know why you have a bedroom on your jet. You are such a ladies' man, Zmey."

Abe brushed my comment away. "There are new clothes for you to put on…later of course… hanging in the closet. I will have the stewardess knock fifteen minutes before we land to give you time to get ready." He chuckled to himself as he walked back toward the seating area.

Dimitri and I couldn't move fast enough. We were through the door and had it relocked in about two seconds flat. It was very quiet and very romantic in this little room. Truthfully, anywhere at this moment in time would have been romantic, as long as the two of us were together.

I saw a small stereo built into the wall and flipped on the power switch. The radio was playing some soft rock from the 80's, but it was better than country music, so I left it on. Dimitri came up behind me and wrapped his hands around my waist folding me into the warmth of his body. He slid my hair to one side and laid a gentle trail of kisses down the side of my neck. Luckily it was the opposite side from Adrian's bite mark.

The music in the background reminded me of that day in the training room when I had made fun of Dimitri listening to an old Prince song. I teased that this song may be new in Russia, but here it's old. I thought Siberia was an arctic wasteland, but I learned when I went to Siberia that they weren't ten years behind the U.S. on the music scene or in anything else, and it definitely wasn't a wasteland. I would have to remember to share that with Dimitri later, when I filled him in on my trip to visit his family. I had already told him of my visit when he held me prisoner, but I am not sure my stories meant the same to Strigoi Dimitri as it would for him now.

"Oh my God Dimitri, did you contact your family yet?" I blurted unexpectedly.

He stopped kissing my neck. "Rose, we are alone in this romantic room and you are suddenly thinking of my family. Can we talk about all the other women in my life tomorrow and just focus on you right now?" He chided as his hands found the hem of my shirt and lifted it over my head. His soft kisses started at my lips and left a trail of heated flesh down my throat and to the top of my lacy black bra. Dimitri dispatched the bra by unhooking the back with one hand while his other hand, his mouth and his tongue explored the treasures hidden underneath.

I couldn't remember what we were just talking about, but I knew that he had just asked me something. "Mmmm. Mmmm" I mumbled hoping that was the right answer, but I didn't think it mattered anymore.

My hands found Dimitri's shirt and I nearly ripped the cotton fabric with the force I used to pull it over his head. He didn't complain. He lowered me gently to the bed and took off my shoes and socks and then my pants. I had on lacy black underwear to match the bra and he stopped to admire how sexy I looked in nothing but them. He kicked off his own shoes and I was already unbuttoning his slacks and easing them down his legs toward the floor. He slipped them off and then with one last appreciative look removed the black lace undies from my body.

His hands started slowly caressing every inch of my legs, sliding up my calves, my knees, my thighs. I hungered for his caress to touch between my legs and quench my desire, but they moved on to my hips, my waist, up to my shoulders and finally came to rest on either side of my face. He kissed me gently on the lips and then he gazed at me. Our eyes met and I could feel the passion and the fire burning through them and directly into my soul.

This was only our second time together and Dimitri was as gentle and loving as our first time, but as our desire increased I think we were both too hungry to be as slow and careful with each other. We were lost in the emotion and the passion, never letting go of each other until we heard the warning knock, alerting us that we had just fifteen minutes until we landed.

There was a small round airplane window on the wall above the bed and I could see morning light streaming in through the curtains. I was under the covers lying in Dimitri's arms, where I had no doubts I could stay forever, when a thought crossed my mind.

I sighed, "I have only had sex twice in my life and I already joined the Mile High Club."

Dimitri laughed, but it seemed it was more a laugh of relief than laughing at my observation.

"What's wrong?" I said gently. This was a newer fragile Dimitri and I wanted to make sure he was okay. I mean psychologically, he had been through quite a lot recently. Physically, believe me I knew he was more than okay. What we had just done in this room, our very own love nest was both physically and emotionally draining.

"It's just…nothing….never mind." He whispered, not very convincingly, kissing the side of my face.

I refused to let it go of course. "No, we are not doing this. You can tell me anything. You have to trust me after all we have seen and been through. Didn't you just give me this same speech an hour ago?" I challenged.

"I…well…I do trust you. I just don't have any right to question you about things that happened when we weren't together." He replied quietly.

"Ask anything." I said as openly and inviting as I could.

"Well, when you came into the coffee shop with the bite marks on your neck…I assumed that you and Adrian-"

"No, we didn't." I interrupted. Okay, now to explain this in a way that doesn't hurt too much. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Dimitri. "Honestly?"

"Yes of course honestly." Dimitri replied.

I sighed. "After I left the church I was so hurt that I went back to my room and cried myself to sleep." Dimitri reached out and stroked my hair. I knew that upset him, but as I looked at him his expression urged me to continue. I took a deep breath and looked across the room. "Later Adrian came looking for me." I paused again giving myself the courage to continue. "I think I was trying to prove something to myself, and well, to you too, but I didn't have sex with him. I just let him bite me and he spent the night." It was probably better not to bring up the fact that the only reason we didn't have sex was lack of protection.

"Rose, you had every right to be with Adrian. He was your boyfriend. He took care of you when I couldn't. I all but threw you into his arms." his voice broke and his words were laced with sadness. His hand found mine and brought it up to his mouth. He placed a gentle kiss upon my palm and then brought it to his heart.

I turned onto my side and my lips found his. I wanted to reassure him with my kisses. I put all my love into the kiss and willed it to travel down and heal his fragile soul. As our kisses heated up, threatening to reawaken the recently quenched passion, reality took hold and we both knew we had to get ready to leave the plane.

It was very difficult to leave the safety of his arms, especially with our futures now so unclear. After all we were both fugitives. Dimitri had still been under guard, though not in jail, when I escaped.

What will tomorrow bring? When can we be together like this again? Dimitri must have been feeling the same uncertainties, because he reached for me and pulled me back to him. "Roza, nothing can keep us apart anymore. Nothing. I promise."

I hugged him and nodded my head, afraid that if spoke or I thought about it too much, I might start to cry again. I reluctantly got out of the bed. Crossing the small room I found the closet.

Hanging inside was a sleeveless white silk designer dress from Dulce & Gabbana. It was beautiful and elegantly simple, and more expensive than my entire wardrobe combined. There was a glittering gold Jimmy Choo clutch and looking down I saw a box containing the most exquisite silver thong sandals adorned with small gold rosettes. They only had a one inch heel, which meant I wouldn't kill myself trying to walk in them.

"Oh my God! These are Manolo Blahnik's!" I squealed excitedly. Dimitri came over to see my clothes and get his own. He had a black Armani suit with a black tie and a white silk shirt that matched my dress. The shoes were black Italian leather loafers.

"Um. Does this stuff look like wedding attire to you?"

Dimitri gave everything a second glance with that new thought in his head. "It sure looks that way to me." He shrugged. "I wonder what Abe has up his sleeve?"


	4. Chapter 3

3

When we were both presentable, and by presentable I meant that Dimitri was drop dead gorgeous. We switched off the stereo and opened the door from our little love nest to the rest of the plane.

The stewardess was in the small kitchen area right outside the door. She gave our clothes an approving look and offered us a glass of champagne. Boy Abe really was making the most of this charade.

We couldn't pass up the champagne and taking the crystal glasses made our way to our seats to get ready for the landing. Abe, noticing our return, came over to fill us in on the details.

"Here are your new cell phones. These are untraceable. Do not call anyone from a payphone or hotel phone, use only these phones. Understood?"

We both nodded and he continued to fill us in on where we were headed.

"When we check in at the Hotel Barnes, you two are registered for the honeymoon suite under the names of Mr. and Mrs. James Salmonetti." Dimitri and I exchanged knowing glances with each other. We were dressed in wedding attire.

"Two of my guardians are registered as business men and will be in a room close to yours. Rose, your mother and I are staying across the street in the Hampson Hotel, along with Tasha. Your mother and I are registered as Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Fineburg."

Everything that was happening was all a little unbelievable, but the fact that my parents were sharing a room and pretending to be married really struck me. I suddenly wondered if they have met up with each other often over the years since my conception. Was it really love between them back then or just a fling? Did they still love each other now? Abe had continued talking while my mind had wandered.

He was saying, "-and Tasha has her own room under the name Patricia Browning. Each person has a cell phone and their numbers are programmed under their assumed names. Oh, and I almost forgot the most important part of your disguise."

He pulled a small black ring box out of his suit pocket. He handed it to Dimitri. "These were my Parent's rings and I would be honored if you would accept them. I mean for right now they are part of the costume, but in the future, when… or if… you two tie the knot for real, they are yours." He looked from Dimitri to me and waited for our acceptance.

Dimitri opened the jewelry box and held it out for me to see. Inside were two rings. They were matching platinum bands carved with a delicate leave design. Mine had small diamonds inlaid throughout the design. They were antique and beautiful. Dimitri and I caught each other's eye. I could tell that neither of us knew what to say.

"Thanks Ab- D-Dad." I stammered.

Dimitri rose and shook Abe's hand. "Thank you sir." He said politely. He always was better at the social stuff than me. I followed his lead and stood up and gave my father an awkward hug.

Abe, motioning toward the box said, "Make sure you put those on before you leave the plane."

"Where are we Abe?" Dimitri questioned.

Interesting…I always thought Dimitri knew what was going on. He was always in on the plan. When he saw me looking at him questioningly he answered my unasked question with, "I had to choose between planning and spending time with you." He gave me that smile that I love so much to let me know he thought he chose wisely. I agreed.

The pilot turned on the fasten seatbelt sign and Abe handed us a wad of cash. "We are going to change our schedules to align with the human world, but you two being honeymooners don't really need to worry about that. No one will question if you don't leave your room for the next week." He couldn't stop smiling at us. "There will be a limo to take you two to the hotel. Remember you just got married so play it up a bit. For some reason I think that shouldn't be too hard for you two to do." He said winking.

After Abe walked back to his seat Dimitri turned to me and took my left hand in his. He had the black velvet box on his lap. He opened it up, took out my band and then looked at me. He looked so serious and stoic and so loving, caring and incredibly sexy at the same time. I melted under that gaze.

"Rosemarie Hathaway. Roza. I love you with all my heart. You are my soul mate. I cannot live without you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" I wasn't sure if he was just going along with the role playing or if he truly was asking to marry me. Either way it didn't matter to me. I would take any part of Dimitri that I could get.

"Of course I will marry you. I love you with all my heart and soul. When I am with you I feel complete, like your soul and my soul intertwine to become one." My heart was bursting as he slipped the ring onto my finger. I slowly took the box from him. I reached for his left hand and slid the ring onto his finger. Strangely, both rings fit perfectly.

We touched down about ten minutes later at a small airfield. It was light outside, but that didn't help me decipher where we were. Abe met us at the door and told us that we were at a small airfield in Arizona near the Nevada border and we were headed to a small suburb of Las Vegas.

I had actually just been in Las Vegas, Nevada a few weeks ago on my quest to find an old crazy Moroi, named Robert Doru, who had been rumored to have brought a Strigoi back to life by using his spirit magic. Lissa, Eddie and I had broken Victor Dashkov out of prison to enlist his help in finding Robert, his half brother. Dimitri as a Strigoi had attacked us after we had learned Robert had indeed accomplished this task with a silver stake charmed with spirit.

We were separated from Victor and his brother, before we learned how to charm the silver stake, but Lissa figured out the charm and brought Dimitri back to life by driving the stake through his heart, while Christian kept him contained in a ring of fire.

We left the plane in our wedding finest and walked down the ramp toward the limousine. The driver, dressed just like I had always pictured a limo driver to dress, with cute little hat and all, greeted us.

"Mr. and Mrs. Salmonetti." he dipped his head in a small bow and held open the back door to the limo. Dimitri and I climbed into the limousine. There was a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket and two glasses waiting for us when we slid into the plush leather seats. I was glad to see that the solid divider was up between the back seats and the driver, giving us our privacy. As we pulled out of the airfield and onto the highway Dimitri grabbed the bottle and poured us each a glass of champagne.

He held his glass out in front of him and toasted. "To us!" We clinked out glasses together and then each sipped some of the champagne.

"My turn." I said holding out my glass in front of me. "To all the people who helped us on this journey to find each other." We clinked glasses again and this time took a bigger sip of the champagne. It was, after all, a pretty big journey.

Dimitri took the glass from my hand and placed it in the cup holder next to his own. We relaxed back into the comfy leather seats snuggling as close as possible. He placed his hand onto my leg, below where the dress covered, and the touch of his warm hand on the skin of my thigh started my heart racing in my chest. Dimitri chuckled and removed his hand from my leg and wrapped it around my shoulders and pulled me onto his lap. I was lying in his lap on my back with my neck and head resting against his arm. From this position Dimitri was gazing down at me. He leaned in and placed a kiss on my nose, then one on each of my eyes, forehead, chin, cheeks and finally ending on my lips.


	5. Chapter 4

4

The sky was full of sunshine and morning was well under way. The Arizona heat was already radiating in waves off the blacktop of the highway. We were quite comfortable in our air conditioned Limousine with tinted windows.

I was surprised how quickly the landscape changed from the remote scrubby desert airstrip into the bustle of civilization. It didn't take long to cross the Nevada border and arrive at the hotel where we were staying outside Las Vegas. Our chauffeur parked the car in front of the grand entrance to the hotel and then got out and opened our door. Mr. and Mrs. James Salmonetti stepped out of the limo hand in hand and walked into the marbled lobby.

We barely paid attention to our surroundings and instead stared longingly at each other until we reached the desk. Or at least that is what we were pretending to do. Of course with our training we were aware of every entrance, exit and person in that lobby.

We had decided that I would do all the talking, so that they wouldn't hear Dimitri's accent, just in case somebody came looking for us. We got the keys to the honeymoon suite and were a little surprised to see our chauffeur carrying in our luggage. We had luggage? A Bell Hop took the luggage from the chauffer, placed it on a cart, and led us to our suite on the top floor. Dimitri gave him a tip and closed the door behind him and locked it tight.

We were standing in the living area of the suite. The room was divided into three different sections, not by walls, but by furniture groupings. There was a burgundy stripe couch and two wing chairs in ivory damask in the sitting area set on a rectangle oriental rug with a flower pattern in shades of burgundy and cream. There was a large flat screen TV on the wall over the marble fireplace.

A crystal chandelier hung over a round glass table with four black wood chairs with cream damask cushions tucked in the breakfast nook. The floor was white marble with black and gray veining. The wall was round and lined with windows that looked out over the gardens. A crystal vase filled with fresh cut flowers sat in the center of the table.

The third area had an elegant mahogany desk and matching chair with a desktop computer, a printer and a phone. I wasn't sure why this would be in a honeymoon suite. Wasn't the whole idea of a honeymoon to get lost in each other and forget the rest of the world?

Right beyond the desk to the right was a set of double glass, curtained doors that led into the bedroom area. We walked through the grand doors into the room. The bed was in the center of the room. It was a wrought iron king size bed with a canopy that held velvet drapes, reminiscent of a royal castle from the Middle Ages. They were opulent and beautiful in shades of cream and gold. I could imagine closing the drapes around the bed and getting lost in my own world - A world that didn't include royals, and courtrooms, and jail cells.

There was a fireplace in here too with another flat screen TV mounted above it. A set of double glass doors led out onto a private balcony with a small Jacuzzi hot tub. Next to the closet in the corner there were chairs and a small side table. Dimitri took off his suit jacket and tie and laid them on the back of one of the chairs.

We walked into the adjoining bathroom. It was absolutely huge and totally Zen. The sink area had two bronze bowl sinks that sat on top of the granite countertop and wood cabinets made of bamboo. Two tall skinny wall vases on either side of the mirror held an artistic array of gnarled branches.

The floor was brown stone that continued half way up the wall behind the large claw foot tub that looked like it could fit both Dimitri and me. Considering he was six foot seven, that is saying something. The rest of the walls were a light brown that matched the tile.

The shower was made out of smaller stone tiles in the same shades of brown as the floor and it was encased by glass. There were more shower heads in that one shower than in all the gym showers back at St. Vladimir's. Two overly fluffy terry cloth robes hung next to the shower.

I suddenly remembered that we had luggage in the other room. Inquisitive about what was inside those suitcases, I started making my way back to the living room when Dimitri reached out and dragged me onto the bed. We started kissing, but I was distracted.

"Did you pack a bag for this trip?" I asked breaking the kiss.

"No" he said shaking his head. "Why do you ask?" He attempted to bring my attention back to us by kissing down the side of my face to my neck.

"Aren't you wondering what is inside those three suitcases?"

Dimitri sighed. He must have known that I couldn't hold my curiosity in check, because he let me go. I started to move off the bed and quickly toward the living room again. He reached for my hand, and then got up to follow me to the suitcases.

I popped open the first one and found that it was filled with clothes that looked like they were all my size, but they weren't my clothes. In fact they all looked brand new, and expensive. I wondered if my father had picked out these clothes or if he had paid someone to do it.

I popped open the second and found it contained more of the same. I carefully dug through the suitcase and found that there were slacks and shirts, bathing suits, socks and shoes, underwear and bras, a toiletry kit, and lingerie. LINGERIE? I noticed that there were no jeans and t-shirts in my suitcase. I hoped the fancy clothes were comfortable.

I looked at Dimitri to see if he was going to open his suitcase too. He wasn't as excited as I was, but he humored me. Popping open his suitcase found he had similar style clothes, dress pants and polo's, button down shirts, bathing suits, underwear, socks and shoes, and a toiletry kit.

I noticed he didn't have any lingerie in his suitcase. Do guys even wear lingerie?

"Do you want me to help you carry your suitcases in to the closet? Or do you want to do something else?" that last part he said huskily as he ran his fingers softly down the back of my head and back stopping at my lower back.

My breathing increased and a warm prickly feeling swept over my skin. I quickly forgot about the clothing in the suitcases and started walking with him toward the giant king size bed. When we got there I actually wanted to go back for the lingerie I saw in the suitcase.

"Wait here for me. I just need to use the bathroom and take off this dress. Will you unzip it for me?" I ran back into the living room with the back of my dress open and grabbed my toiletry bag and one of the lacy pieces of lingerie in black. There was also one in red and one in white each a slightly different style. How long were we staying here?

I went through the bedroom and into the bathroom and closed the door. I stripped off the dress, hung it up on the back of the door, and slid on the lacy black cloth that barely covered my body. I admired my reflection in the mirror. Oh yeah, definitely a ten in this outfit. I quickly brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my dark hair.

I gradually opened the bathroom door and tried to sneak across the carpet to surprise Dimitri, who was relaxing on his back on the bed waiting for me. I should have known there was no way to sneak up on him. After all he was a god. He heard me almost immediately.

His head turned and he watched me walk from the bathroom to the bed. A smile of appreciation crossed his lips. His eyes were filled with love, and something else, desire. He stayed on his back as I climbed onto the bed on all fours like a tigress stalking her prey. I stopped when our faces were barely an inch from each other. My hair fell down on either side of his face like a silk curtain. I could hear Dimitri's breathing escalate. His hands reached up and started caressing every inch of my body.

The lingerie didn't last long. Dimitri had it off my body quicker than I had gotten it on a few minutes earlier. I helped him strip out of his Armani suit and finally we were laying skin to skin sideways across the big king size bed. I unhooked the curtains on my side and pulled them closed around the bed. Dimitri did the same on the other side of the bed and soon we were in our own little cocoon.

I think several hours must have passed by, even though it only felt like minutes. We were relaxing in each other's arms under the covers. I was in a blissful daze. I think we may have slept for a short time. With all the excitement of re-connecting with Dimitri, switching our days and nights, and being in this luxurious resort, I was a little disoriented.

We heard a distant knock on the door and Dimitri stiffened. He instructed me to stay and wait while he checked the door. He threw on a robe and was only gone for a minute, but my nerves were still on edge until I saw him again. I couldn't bear losing him for a second time. He came back into the room pushing a room service cart overflowing with food. It smelled wonderful. My stomach responded to the delicious smells by immediately growling. Dimitri heard it and his warm, rich laughter caressed my body. He reached out a hand and pulled me to the edge of the bed so I was closer to the food.

"Well Mrs. Salmonetti it looks like we have one of everything off the room service menu. What are you in the mood for?"

I answered his question with a sly smile. Dimitri, responding to the suggestive look, picked up a piece of grilled chicken and playfully fed it to me. I didn't realize just how hungry I was. I hadn't had anything to eat since the donut I ate this morning- or was it yesterday morning? The chicken tasted so wonderful. He put the rest of the piece in his mouth and I think his taste buds were as happy as mine. The two of us just started sampling food off different plates. We fed each other, we fed ourselves, and we ate until we couldn't eat anymore.

"When did you order the food? I wasn't in the bathroom that long.?" I wondered aloud.

"I didn't. I wish I could take credit for that, but honestly I only had one thing on my mind. You. It must have been your parents." He said thankfully.

I remembered suddenly, "Parents! Dimitri we need to call your family. They don't know that you are alive. I think that maybe I should call and break it to them first. If you call they will just think you are still a Strigoi. What do you think?"

I looked at him sitting next to me in the bed. He still had the on the robe he had thrown on to answer the door. It was no longer tied at the waist and the sides draped open revealing his strikingly beautiful body. As I gazed upon him I was lost in the wonder of all that had happened in the last few hours.

I almost didn't hear Dimitri say, "Rose, come lie next to me and we will call my mother." He patted the spot next to him and I moved up beside him on the bed and snuggled as close as I could get. I don't think I will ever get enough of his warm skin pressed against my body.

"Wait it's a twelve hour time difference. That means it will be after midnight." I remembered sadly.

"You're right. Let's try to call a little later when it is morning." Dimitri sighed. He looked a little disappointed that we had to wait until later and he said "I know what will make me feel better."

I leaned over and gave him a big kiss. "How was that? Did that make you feel better?"

"You know it did. You always make me feel better." He looked at me quite peacefully.

That wasn't all that I was seeing in his face though. I wasn't surprised when he playfully asked, "Any interest in testing whether that tub can fit both of us in it at once?"

"I'm in." I said as I jumped up to start the water to fill the tub.

I came back into the bedroom and announced. "I think we have time for a quickie before that giant tub fills up." I raised both my eyebrows and waggled them at him giving him a goofy questioning look.

He gave me that one eyebrow raised look and pulled me toward him on the bed.


	6. Chapter 5

5

It turned out we had just enough time for a quickie. I went back to check on the water level and stopped the tub just before it overflowed. I had to let some of the water out before we could get in and a little more out after Dimitri got in before I could join him.

We started out facing each other with our backs against opposite sides of the tub and our legs entwined in the middle. That is until Dimitri said silkily, "You're too far away, Roza, come closer."

I moved to the other side of the tub in front of him so that my back rested against his chest and my head, just barely above the warm water, rested against his shoulder.

We lay there in silence, just relaxing in the warm water. I could feel Dimitri's heart beating against my back. The rhythmic beat lulled me into meditation. My thoughts began to wander through all the events that had happened since Dimitri had brought Lissa and I back to the academy a year ago.

That one year felt like a lifetime to me. I had changed physically, muscles that had slackened from lack of practice during our two year vacation, now were hardened, making me into a fighting machine. I had also learned to control myself a little better and I tried to think before I said or did anything that I would regret.

Most importantly I had fallen in love with my soul mate, lost my virginity, lost my soul mate and then got him back…well brought him back to life and then got him back. I met some great people in Russia, survived being held prisoner by Strigoi, found out who my father was, passed my final trials with the highest marks in the class, graduated from the academy and received my promise marks, orchestrated a jailbreak, got arrested for murder, got engaged…

"A penny for your thoughts?" Dimitri's soothing voice broke into my reverie.

"Hmmm. Wouldn't it be a Kopek for my thoughts, Comrade?" I teased.

"Sure, except I am not sure I could get a Kopek to give you anytime soon."

"I was just thinking about how my life has changed since the day you came to Portland to bring Lissa and I back to St. Vlad's."

"Now I see why you were quiet for so long. It has been quite a year." Dimitri said thoughtfully. "You impressed me that night in Portland with your determination to protect Lissa. I knew that night that there was something special about you. That is why I stood up for you with Headmistress Kirova." He was quiet for a heartbeat. "I heard that you got the highest marks in the class for your trials. Congratulations. I knew you would do great."

"That is because my teacher and mentor was a god! He taught me everything I needed to know." I smiled to myself remembering how I hated some of those lessons.

"And some things you never needed to know." Dimitri added sadly.

I ignored his comment. "Dimitri? Do you remember seeing me in Las Vegas a few weeks ago?

"I do. My memories during that time are a little fuzzy. It was kind of like I was watching a movie. It wasn't like I was doing those awful things, but like I was trapped inside and watching the action, without any way to stop it."

I remembered him explaining his experience to Lissa when he was still in jail. I had listened in that day, but Dimitri didn't know that.

"Do you remember who I was there with?" I asked cautiously.

"Lissa, Eddie, Adrian, and - I am not sure I am remembering this correctly, but was Victor Dashkov there?"

"Yes he was."

"Actually I was a little confused about that. You and Lissa were determined to put him away for life this winter and then you were at a hotel in Las Vegas with him in the summer."

"Remember when I told you I did a lot to change you back to a dhampir?" I was referring to our conversation when I snuck down to his jail cell when he was recently turned back from Strigoi. He hadn't wanted to see me.

"I do, but what does Victor have to do with that?"

I explained about Mark and Oksana and Robert Doru. I told him about Abe's failed attempt to reason with, or tempt Victor. The jail break in Alaska and the charms that Lissa was able to make to help us appear human. I finished the tale with the punishment I received for running away again -not for the jail break- when I returned to the Royal Court. No one knew about the jailbreak being our doing and the perpetrators have still not been caught.

Dimitri stayed quiet for a while absorbing all the information I had just shared. "Thank you, for loving me enough to go through all that trouble." He said quietly.

I tilted my head and kissed him on the underside of his chin. I could feel a smile move across his face.

He reached over to the towel bar and lifted a facecloth off the top of the neatly stacked towels. He placed it into the water and then got the bar of soap and lathered it into the cloth. He gently rubbed it across my stomach, up my left arm and across my chest leaving sweet smelling suds in its path. He washed as far as my thighs, but couldn't go any farther, hindered by our positions in the tub. "Lean forward so that I can wash your back." He ran the soapy cloth over my back and when he finished that he instructed. "Flip around so that you're facing me and I'll wash the rest of you."

I moved to the other side of the tub so that Dimitri could wash my legs and feet. When he was finished I took the cloth from him. I started with his feet and crawled my way back across the tub until I had everything, but his back cleaned. I never realized how sensual it could be to wash and be washed by your lover.

"Now you lean forward so I can get your back." I said. When he leaned forward his face was pressed into my cleavage. I couldn't complain.

When I finished his back he told me to sit in front of him so that he could wash my hair. Then kneeling on either side of his thighs I washed his silky brown hair. We both rinsed out our hair in the bathwater.

Dimitri surveyed our slightly soapy appearance and declared. "We really need to rinse off in the shower." So we jumped out of the tub and moved into the shower to rinse and condition our hair.

The shower looked confusing, but really there was only one knob that turned it on. There were so many shower heads that blasted our bodies' at all different levels. Some were aimed low around our legs, some mid height, and some at or above our heads. Each shower head had a dial to adjust how hard the water came out. So by playing with each nozzle we could make the shower massage our bodies. I didn't even realize how tight my muscles were until the massaging water hit them.

We conditioned our hair, rinsed our bodies and luxuriated in the hot steamy water. When our skin was red and wrinkly like prunes we decided it was probably time to get out of the shower. Dimitri got out first and wrapped a towel around his waist. I shut off the water and when I stepped out, he was waiting with a fluffy white towel.

He wrapped me in the towel and wrapped me in his arms. He grabbed another towel off the shelf and patted my hair dry. While he was doing that my face was directly in front of his rock hard chest. I was watching the water stream down from his hair across his chest and disappear into the towel wrapped at his waist. I leaned forward and licked the water from around his left nipple. Then I moved to his right nipple and licked and sucked up all the water there too.

I was so engrossed in my task that I hardly realized that the towel wrapped around his waist was now pitched out like a tent. I felt his hardness pressing against the towel wrapped around my stomach. Dimitri reached out and grabbed the two fluffy white terry cloth robes and tossed them on the floor at our feet. Our towels were freed from our bodies and tossed into the pile. He tilted his head down and lazily kissed my lips. Slowly we collapsed to the floor wrapped in each other's arms.

Our lovemaking this time was sensual and slow, perhaps it was because of how relaxed we were from the hot bath and shower. Whatever the reason it was definitely different from the hunger that had driven us last night on the plane.

When the steam and heat of the shower had dissipated from the bathroom there was a chill in the air. It probably had something to do with our wet hair and the wet towels we were using as our bed. I shivered involuntarily and immediately Dimitri responded by picking me up and carrying me to the bed.

Snuggling into the cozy bed with Dimitri warm and clean beside me I felt a soothing calm wash over me. I laid my head on his chest and fell peacefully asleep.

I felt that familiar feeling that alerted me that I was in one of Adrian's contrived dreams. It was weird this time because part of me knew that I was lying in Dimitri's arms, but in the dream I was in a sexy dress at a bar in the Royal Court. Techno music played in the background and a disco ball sent sparkling light over the dance floor.

I was sitting at the bar with a red skin tight dress that had a slit up one side almost to my hip. The front of the dress cut out in a diamond shape that extended from between my breasts to the top of my underwear line revealing my belly button. I had the nazur hanging from a belly button ring. Even though I would never dress like that I only had one thought. Thank God I wasn't naked.

"Okay Adrian. Where are you? And what is with the belly button piercing? This seems to be a recurring theme with you!" I said with impatience.

He appeared smiling from ear to ear. "Little dhampir, how are you? I have missed you. Where are you?" He said trying to sooth my agitation. He walked over to wrap me in a hug lifting me off the bar stool.

"Adrian, I am fine. You know I cannot tell you where I am. Just know that I am in good hands and we will come up with something to help prove my innocence. I really must cut this short. Please tell Lissa that I am doing well and I miss her." I said pointedly.

I hoped that I could bypass any difficult conversations by making this dream short and sweet. "Hold up Little dhampir. There is someone else here who wants to say hello." He said stopping my retreat from the dream. Lissa walked out from a back corner of the bar.

"Hi Rose." She said with a blissful smile.

"Oh my God Liss, you did it! You learned how to dream walk! I am so proud of you." I paused for a moment and looked in Adrian's direction. "Adrian, is there any way to give Lissa and I some privacy?" Adrian obliged my request by promptly and unhappily disappearing.

"What's going on Rose?" Lissa asked concerned. I could feel it through our bond and hear it in her voice at the same time. She was terribly worried about me.

I looked around to make sure Adrian was really gone. "Liss, you don't need to worry about me. I am with Dimitri. We have worked everything out and Liss, you'll never guess, so I have to just tell you, because I am too excited. Liss?"

I gave her a moment to answer me and to show me that what I was saying was coming across loud and clear. This after all was her first dream walk experience as far as I knew.

"Of course I am here Rose and now I can't wait to hear what is going on. Please just tell me." Impatience and excitement made her words come out in a rush.

I was bursting at the seams to share my happy news with my best friend. "Liss, Dimitri has asked me to marry him…and I said yes!"

She actually squealed with delight, she was so happy for me. I could feel her warm loving thoughts flooding me through the bond.

We talked a little more, but didn't get into where I was or what I was trying to do. We mainly discussed what happened between Dimitri and me and how he ended up proposing to me. I let her tell me how she and Christian had worked out all of their problems and were back together.

I informed her that we were going to follow a human schedule so I would be sleeping at night if she wanted to dream walk again. We hugged and I said goodbye, but before I shut down the connection Lissa stopped me.

"Rose, I thought you should know, Adrian heard that Dimitri disappeared the same night as you and he assumes that you are together." She told me this with sorrow in her voice, knowing that I didn't mean to hurt Adrian. "He is hurting pretty bad and only agreed to dream walk tonight for me."

"Liss, thank you for telling me. Please keep an eye on him for me. Don't let him drink himself to death." Some part of me did love Adrian and I didn't want him to suffer because of me. He had really been there for me for the last three months. Lissa agreed to do what she could and we broke the dream connection.

I awoke to a strange alarm going off in our hotel room. Dimitri was alert and looking around, but neither of us knew what was making the awful noise. I unplugged the alarm clock, but the horrible noise would not stop. That is when we realized it was the cell phone sitting on the bedside table. It was Abe calling. He let us know that he, my mother and Tasha were coming over to discuss our next move.

We really needed to change that ringtone.


	7. Chapter 6

6

We immediately jumped out of the bed and started digging around in our suitcases. Our guests were arriving in a half hour and we just climbed out of bed.

I picked out a pair of grey slacks and a sleeveless pink cashmere sweater. I found that all the undergarments in the suitcase were matched sets. I chose a light pink satin underwear and bra set. I didn't bother picking out shoes, seeing as we were not leaving our hotel room.

I went in to the bathroom to see what condition my hair was in. I had fallen asleep with it still wet and wasn't sure what terrible bed head I had now. It wasn't as bad as I thought and sprinkling the brush with a little water was enough to get it under control. I brushed my teeth and examining my face in the mirror, made the decision to skip makeup.

When I went back into the bedroom Dimitri was dressed in black dress pants and a light grey pullover, which hugged his athletic build. He looked sexy. I found myself thinking of how he looked this morning stretched out on the bed with the robe draped open. A warm feeling started low in my body and spread throughout. I felt my cheeks flush giving my thoughts away. It was then I realized not only was I staring at him, but he was staring at me.

Dimitri smiled and moved across the room to take me into his embrace. "Rose, I feel the same way, but your parents and Tasha will be arriving any minute. I promise as soon as they leave we will pick up from this very moment."

He had barely gotten his words out when there was a knock on the door. We walked side by side with our arms around each other into the living room. Dimitri checked through the peephole in the door and confirming it was Abe and company opened the door.

"Come in Ms. Browning and Mr. and Mrs. Fineburg." Dimitri stepped aside and invited them in.

"I see you found the clothing to your liking." Abe said clearly pleased with his good deed.

"Yes, thank you sir." Dimitri smiled appreciatively in my direction.

"Come sit down. Can I get you guys anything?" I didn't even know if there was anything in the mini fridge, but by the way this place was stocked I had no doubt I would find something in it.

"No thank you Rose. We actually just had lunch." My mom spoke for everyone. Then she smiled. "Did you two enjoy the food we had sent up earlier?"

"That was great. Thanks. We didn't even realize that we were hungry until the food arrived." I suddenly realized how that sounded and blushed.

They all just laughed at me and moved to sit around the living room on the couch and chairs. Dimitri and I sat next to each other on the couch our fingers lacing together automatically. My mother sat down next to me and Tasha and Abe each got an armchair.

Abe started the conversation. "Okay, as Rose knows, I have a connection with the Alchemists." He nodded his head in my direction as he spoke. "It was brought to my attention about a week ago that a file on the Dragomir's was stolen from Alchemists headquarters."

Tasha was surprised to hear this news. "Who would do that?" Before anyone could respond she added. "Do you think it has anything to do with the recent vote of the council to lower the guardians' graduation age to sixteen?"

"No, I think it has to do with Lissa not being able to take her seat on the council due to the stupid Quorum. I just don't understand _who_ is digging for this information." That reminded me of the note Ambrose slipped me from Queen Tatiana.

"Do you think it is the person behind the theft is supporting Lissa to get her rightful spot on the council or someone out to make sure she never gets her spot?" Dimitri contemplated.

I jumped up, startling Dimitri, and jogged into the bedroom to find that note. "I have something to show you guys. I'll be right back." I went to the bedroom and grabbed the little clutch that went with my wedding outfit.

They had started talking again, but when I walked back into the room they stopped and all eyes looked to me.

"What have you got Rose?" Dimitri looked at me a little confused. He was probably wondering why I hadn't shared with him earlier.

I sat back on the couch next to him and pulled the folded up note from the purse. I unfolded it and read Queen Tatiana's words aloud.

"_Rose,_

_If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened. You probably hate me, and I don't blame you. I can only ask that you trust that what I did with the age decree was better for your people than what others had planned. There are some Moroi who want to force all dhampirs into service, whether they want it or not, by using compulsion. The age decree has slowed that faction down. _

_However, I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible. Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daughter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it. _

_Tatiana Ivashkov" (Spirit Bound pg. 487)_

When I finished reading the letter from Tatiana the room was filled with stunned faces.

"When did she give that to you?" Abe looked a little irritated.

"She didn't give it to me. Ambrose slipped it into my hand at the end of my hearing." I replied coolly.

"Ambrose?" Dimitri gave me a look of disbelief. "From the spa?"

"Yes, apparently he was Tatiana's blood whore." I said quietly. I had no right to pass judgment after what happened to me in Novosibirsk and what I did with Adrian the other day. I couldn't look up at Dimitri as I said the words for fear my shame was revealed on my face.

Tasha chimed in with her own questions. "If she wrote that note to you it proves that she thought she was in danger from someone else and not you, right? Doesn't this clear you of her murder?"

"I don't think that will be enough to clear her considering they have the murder weapon with her prints on it." My mother glanced my way with a concerned look on her face. "I am sorry honey." She placed her hand on my knee and gave it a comforting pat.

I nodded at her. She was right. Unless we found some more evidence I was doomed. This letter was a clue, a place to start our quest to clear my name.

"So how do we find Eric Dragomir's child?"

"Victor Dashkov. He was Eric's best friend." Abe looked directly at me. "You wouldn't happen to know where he is." It was more of a statement than a question.

I wiggled under his interrogation. "The last time I saw him was in Las Vegas. We got separated and he disappeared with his brother Robert. His brother has a cabin in Red Rock Canyon. Then, I think you already knew that or why would we be here?"

"Rose, what are you talking about? You saw Victor after he escaped from prison?" My mother was raising her voice in both admonishment and disbelief.

"Yes, I did see him for dinner, but then we were separated. Mom it's a long story and really has nothing to do with what's going on now." I explained.

My father sensing that this was going to lead us off in a dangerous direction deftly changed the subject. "The reason we are in Las Vegas is I asked the Alchemists to check in their computerized files and see if they had any information about the Dragomir's that was in the file that would make it beneficial for someone to steal. I found out that Eric had a possible mistress, or mistresses. "

"And what else did you find out?" I asked excitedly interrupting him.

He smiled a frustrated smile and continued sharing what he had learned. "I found that there were some show girls that Eric had possible relations with, but they may not still be working here in Las Vegas. It has been quite a number of years since the accident and Eric's death. They didn't have any information on a child, so that must have been kept quite a secret."

"That makes sense. I met a Moroi man when I was at the bar with Adrian, he alluded to Eric's unfaithfulness, but I didn't want to believe it." I was still having trouble wrapping my head around it. "Oh, and I talked to my friend Sydney, the Alchemist and she told about a bank account in Las Vegas that Eric regularly deposited money to, I mean _large_ deposits." I emphasized the word large.

"Also Adrian mentioned something to his parents about Eric Dragomir and his mom chastised him for speaking ill of the dead, but his dad overheard and said Eric was a real playboy."

"That is strange, why would Lord Ivashkov know of Eric Dragomir's affairs?" Dimitri pondered out loud.

"Well, as the victim of a lot of rumors, most of which are not true, I know how quickly things get around and change from bad to worse in the retelling. I am sure Nathan just believed what he heard."

"Now we know there is some truth to it though. So we start with Las Vegas and if we can find Victor Dashkov, all the better." Abe stated. "Later this afternoon the three of us, Tasha, Janine and I will head to the Witching Hour and do some snooping."

I know Abe has a lot of connections and basically runs the Alchemists organization, so I had no doubt we would find everything we needed.

Abe's cell phone rang and he excused himself to take the call nearer to the windows and out of our earshot.

When Abe came back from the phone call he announced. "We now have Robert Doru's house under 24 hour surveillance for Victor Dashkov."

"I think we need to brainstorm about who has motive to kill the queen and why this same person might be looking for the Dragomir child." My mother suggested.

"Does anyone think it is a coincidence that Victor, who had treasonous ideas to overthrow the Queen, was out of jail right before she was murdered?" My mother asked. I am sure it was an attempt to learn why I met him for dinner a few weeks ago.

"Mom, last fall when Victor kidnapped Lissa he told me that Kenneth was not his only Moroi follower and many would continue his efforts even after he was thrown in jail." I clarified hoping that would satisfy her curiosity regarding me and Victor. "He also realized that Lissa was charismatic and many followed her, He sounded like he wanted to throw his support behind her."

"That's right I remember him saying that. " Dimitri concurred. "He wouldn't need to steal the files though, he already knows about Eric's child."

"Well then it appears we have a number of players on the field then." Abe alleged.

"Tasha and I had been there when it was revealed that the Council had voted to lower the guardian graduation age. We learned that Szelsky, Ozera, Badica, Dashkov, Conta and Drosdov were against it. Ivashkov, Lazar, Zecklos, Tarus and Voda voted for it. Queen Tatiana voted for it which swayed the vote so it passed. We now know from the letter she wrote me that she didn't agree with it, but it was the lesser of two evils." I told everyone.

We talked a lot about whom on the Council would want to have Lissa join the vote of the Royals and who wanted to further their own needs by having an uneven number of families represented. We threw out names and each of us talked about what their known positions were on different subjects.

"Mom, maybe you can talk to the Szelsky's and Tasha could talk to the Ozera's and find out if they know anything. Oh, and maybe I could talk with Adrian, because the Ivashkov's and his mother's family the Tarus's voted for it."

Dimitri added, "I know some guardians that work for the Badica's and the Zecklos family and I'll connect with them."

Abe had a lot of connections all over the world decided to pick up the remaining families. "I probably can talk to my contacts in each of these royal organizations and see what I can find out. Voda, Lazar, Drosdov, Dashkov and Conta."

"Does anyone think we should have Christian or Lissa doing any investigating at the court?" Tasha questioned.

I thought a lot about that. With Lissa being so charismatic and popular and of course her compulsion abilities, she could probably learn some new information. On the flipside, if she questions someone who is guilty then she may be putting herself in danger and not even knowing it. I also really want to protect her from the idea that her father was unfaithful to her mother.

"I don't think it's a good idea. She might get hurt." I definitively, my tone saying this conversation was over.

"Hold on Rose. Lissa is stronger than you think. She can take care of herself and Christian won't let anything happen to her." Tasha argued.

"I agree with Tasha on this Rose, and honestly we need someone we can trust back at the court to do some digging and be our eyes and ears." Dimitri, knowing this would upset me, put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head.

My anger was smoldering inside me, but Dimitri's touch kept me calmer than I have been in a long time. "Okay, I will call her later when she wakes up and ask for a little help." I agreed reluctantly.

"I think that is all we can do for now kids." My mom said plainly. "Why don't you two have a nice dinner in one of the hotel restaurants tonight?"

It had been a long afternoon of hashing out who might be responsible for framing me and why. I was a little worn out but, My mom actually had a nice suggestion. It would feel good to go out and have a nice dinner with Dimitri. A date. That is something we never actually got to have because of our very secret relationship.

"I think that is a great idea." I kissed my mom to thank her for the recommendation. I caught Dimitri's eye and hoped that he too would be eager for our first date. I wasn't disappointed.

We walked our guest to the door and wished them luck on their quest to the Witching Hour. We instructed them to keep us informed either by text or calling. Abe gave us a look when we mentioned texting, but Tasha patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Abe I got us covered in the texting department." He and my mother looked relieved.

We kissed them all on the cheek in parting and Abe turned to us, "My guards will be here to watch you all night. Just give them a call before you head down to dinner and they will be around."


	8. Chapter 7

We closed the door and locked it up tight. It was still a little early for dinner. We had eaten half the room service menu for lunch, so a late dinner might even be a better choice than an early one.

We had about three hours to kill before we could think of calling Lissa or Adrian back in Pennsylvania. It was late afternoon here in Nevada, but with the time delay and the Royal Court on the vampire schedule, they were surely still asleep.

"Hey it's about five in Siberia, do you want to call your Mom now? She was up this early when I stayed there in April." I asked excitedly.

He went over to the bedside table and grabbed his cell phone. We plopped next to each other on the bed and got comfortable. He punched in the number for his family's house in Baia and the two of us waited while the line connected and the phone began ringing. My heart started to thump louder with each ring. I was nervous and yet so excited to be able to tell Olena that her son was still alive.

To my surprise the phone kept ringing. I was afraid to think that no one was awake to get my big news when finally a woman's voice came on and said hello in Russian.

"Hello, this is Rose, is this Olena?" I asked glancing over at Dimitri to see if he had any idea who had answered the phone. He smiled, but didn't say anything.

"No, Rose this is Sonya. How are you? Where are you?" she asked excitedly easily switching from Russian to accented English.

"I am back in the United States. I went back to St. Vladimir's and finished school. I graduated a few weeks ago and got my promise mark." When I last saw her she had been about 6 months pregnant, which meant she should be having the baby any day now. "How are you and how is the pregnancy going?"

"I just had a baby boy Rose, and I named him Dimitri after my brother." She said with a mixture of happiness and sorrow in her voice.

"Oh, Sonya that is wonderful, congratulations. Hey is your mom home by any chance?" I didn't mean to cut her short, but I needed to share the good news about Dimitri. I wasn't sure if I should tell Sonya, especially in her condition.

"Hold on Rose, I think she is around here somewhere. She has been so wonderful helping me with the baby and he has been waking up every two hours to eat and he finally fell asleep, so she is probably taking a well deserved break."

She put the phone down and I could hear Sonya softly calling to her mother in her attempts to not wake the baby and the other sleeping members of the house. I held my hand over the phone and explained to Dimitri that Sonya had a boy and named him after his uncle. Dimitri looked thrilled with that tribute.

Finally after what seemed like hours, someone picked up the phone. It wasn't Olena. "Dimka, are you there?" Yeva's voice yelled over the receiver. Dimitri could hear every word sitting next to me. Now how did that crazy old lady know why we calling?

Dimitri's body subconsciously stiffened as he put out his hand to take the phone from me and placing it up to his ear he started speaking in Russian to his grandmother. The conversation wasn't that long, but it was filled with emotion. Dimitri's body started to relax. His voice cracked and a tear streamed down his cheek. I reached out and held his free hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. He looked over and gave me a lopsided smile.

He handed the phone quickly back to me and whispered. "My mother is coming on the line. Yeva did not tell her anything."

"Hello? Rose? Are you there?" Olena's sweet motherly voice sang across the line. I put the phone on speaker so we both could hear.

"Olena, I am here. How are you?" I said surprised at just how much I missed her.

"Oh Rose, it is so good to hear from you. We are all fine here. A little overwhelmed with the new little Dimka in the house, but everyone is well." She said with pride filling her voice.

"Olena, listen, I am calling because I have something to tell you. It is actually something quite wonderful that you may find hard to believe. I am sure you remember that when I was staying with you I met Mark and Oksana, right?" I didn't give her the chance to respond. I was eager to finish my tale. "Well they told me about a rumor they had heard of a spirit user bringing back a Moroi who had turned Strigoi. I mean bringing the Moroi back to life and well ... um ... so how do I explain this. My bond-mate Lissa, who is a spirit user also, and I found a way to do just that and-"

"Hi Mom." Dimitri said interrupting.

We heard a crash on the other end of the line and either she dropped the phone or she fainted. I was hoping it was the former and not the latter.

After a few seconds we heard rustling and then Olena came back on the line. "Dimka, is that really you?" she croaked out, her voice betraying her emotions.

Dimitri smiled and with his voice playful and happy he said, "Yeah Mom, it really is ME." He switched the speakerphone off and put the phone to his ear.

Then they went off in a long conversation in Russian that I could not understand. Dimitri's face was alive and animated and I knew he must be telling her the twisted tale of his losing and then coming back to life. I heard my name mentioned a few times in his story and then he suddenly switched back to English when he told his mom. "And I asked her to marry me and she accepted." He leaned forward at that moment and placed a big kiss on my forehead. "That was from my mom." He said smiling.

They finished their conversation and he agreed to let his mom break the good news to the rest of the family and then Dimitri would call back and talk to all of them. We arranged a time later that day so that Viktoria could be picked up from school and brought home for the announcement.

After he hung up the phone he looked at me. "I hope it was okay to tell her about the engagement part? I probably should have asked you first, but I was so excited about it that I couldn't keep it to myself."

"Absolutely! Dimitri of course you can tell anyone that you want to tell. You can shout it from the rooftops if you want. Oh, it may not be good to do that since we technically are already married, Mr. Salmonetti." I teased.

"Hey, how did Yeva know that it was you on the line?" I could only imagine.

"Well she told me that she had a dream while you were there staying with them. In the dream you found me and by killing me brought me back to life. That is why she told you that you had to go find me and kill me."

"She didn't tell me that at the time." I said a little hurt. She had been very blunt and rude that night and her words hurt me a little bit.

"That is the way Yeva works, Rose." He said as if that explained everything. He gave me a hug and a kiss on my forehead. I think it was his attempt to make up for his weird grandmother.

When he looked up again he looked so happy he was almost giddy. I knew he missed his family and his hometown and it was nice that they were reuniting.

We went out to the living room to get a drink out of the mini-fridge. We sat back on the couch side by side our legs touching and our fingers laced together. "So…the way I figure it Comrade, we have time to kill until we can call to the Court."

"Hmm. I think you are on to something there." Dimitri mumbled silkily as his lips found mine.

His kisses started slow and quickly turned deeper and more sensual. He pressed me back against the couch and gradually he moved on top of me. We started to peel off clothing, my sweater, his shirt, my bra – when he scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom. The rest of the clothing melted away as the fire of our passion consumed us.

"What time is it?" I asked my arm draped across Dimitri's stomach and my fingers lazily making small circle patterns on his chest. I couldn't keep my hands to myself. His tanned chest lay out before me inviting me to touch and play.

I could tell that light touch felt as good to Dimitri as it did to me. He had a dreamy smile on his face and his eyes were closed.

"I'm not sure, we never plugged the alarm clock back in from earlier. It is dark outside though." He had opened his eyes and nodded his head in the direction of the balcony doors.

"Can you pass me my cell phone? I think it's time to call Lissa, Christian and Adrian."

He grabbed the phone off the side table without even having to reach for it. One of the benefits of being over six and a half feet tall, I guess. I took the cell from him and gave him a big kiss, before I sat up and started dialing Lissa's number.

The phone barely rang once and I could feel the anticipation and hope through the bond. Lissa wanted it to be me on the other end.

"Hello?" Lissa answered.

"Hey, Liss." I said just as relieved to talk with her again. I knew she was safe because of our bond, but it didn't compare to hearing her voice.

"What can I do for you?" She asked politely.

"I take it you are not alone?" I could tell she wasn't being my normal charismatic best friend. "Is it anyone I know?"

_Mia is with Christian and I. We are in the lobby to our building. Do you want me to get rid of her? _Lissa asked through the bond.

"No actually, maybe she can help too." I assured her.

Then I went into a summary of our brainstorming session this afternoon, skipping anything to do with her father of course. I told her about Tasha and Dimitri agreeing that she and Christian may be able to do some sleuthing back at the court to help us out.

"Yes! We'll do it." She exclaimed without even consulting with Christian first. Relief that she could help me in some way came to me through the bond.

"Hold up. You guys need to talk about it first and then get back to me. Okay?" I said, not wanting to throw water on her fire. Well actually considering Christian is her fire, literally, sometimes I wouldn't mind throwing a bucket of water on him. The thought made me chuckle.

"Rose, why are you laughing?" _Oh wait your with Dimitri, never mind don't tell me! _I felt her embarrassment, which made me laugh harder.

"Oh Lissa, I miss you."

"I miss you too." Lissa responded her voice filled with love mixed with a little confusion.

"Have you seen Eddie around lately?" I asked out of the blue. He had been avoiding me ever since we got back from Las Vegas.

"No. Why?"

"Well I was hoping that maybe he could help the cause by gossiping with the guardians and slipping you useful information. That is if he is willing to help after all I got him in pretty big trouble last time."

"I am sure he will. I will try and connect with him soon. Listen I will talk with these guys and let you know through the bond what they say."

"Great. Thanks. And Liss?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. You are my best friend. Stay safe while I am not there to protect you, because if anything bad happened to you I wouldn't forgive myself."

"I love you too! I will stay safe. Goodbye for now." She hung up the phone.

I didn't even realize that there was a tear that had somehow escaped my eye and was silently sliding down my cheek until Dimitri reached over and wiped it away with his thumb.

"She is at the Royal Court. I am sure she is safe there." Dimitri's words soothed my worried thoughts about Lissa.

I was thinking about her and Christian and how they managed to train and charm the silver stake without me knowing about it. I thought about how strong she has been and how she stood up to Queen-

"Wait, how can she be safe there if Queen Tatiana wasn't even safe and she was guarded by the Royal Guard?" I nearly screamed.

He immediately sat up and wrapped me in his arms. "Shhh. Rose, It's okay. Whoever killed Tatiana wouldn't dare do anything to her. They framed you for the murder and you are not in the Royal Court. If another Royal were to die, your name would be cleared."

He was definitely calmer and could think on his feet better than me. I had seen him in many crisis situations and he always thought clearly and professionally. Realizing this soothed my anxiety. When he felt me relax into his embrace, he pulled back to look me in the eyes.

"You always know what to say to a girl." I teased. He stroked my hair and allowed a few strands to twirl through his fingers.

"Do you want to go to dinner now?" He asked gently in a way that let me know it was completely my choice. He knew I was very concerned about Lissa helping to clear my name.

As if on cue a thought from Lissa came through the bond. _Christian said of course we are going to dig up the dirt on our end and clear Rose's name. Mia agreed with Christian. No surprise there! She said she will see what she can get from her guardian friends too._

"Lissa talked with Christian and Mia and they are on board with spying for us_."_

"Honestly Roza. What did you expect of your best friend? If she was willing to risk her life to bring me back to life for you, do you think spying is something she'd say no to?"

"Well, when you put it that way." I conceded. He was right. I knew that my friends would help me with this mission. After all I think it might be easier than anything else they have helped me with in the last few months.

"I am ready to go eat dinner." I announced. This received quite the look from Dimitri. "What?"

"Well I hope you plan on getting dressed first. And maybe even brush your hair, although this look is quite endearing." He whispered playfully.

I looked down at myself and back up at him. "Maybe a quick shower first?"

We jumped into the shower and decided to put on different clothes than the ones from this afternoon. They had spent the last few hours in a heap and weren't really in any condition to be worn to a nice restaurant downstairs.

I picked out a grey skirt and a silk spaghetti strap top. Looking at the top reminded me of the dream when Adrian changed the color of my shirt from ivory to blue and finally settling on crimson. He had said it was my color. I picked a pair of high heal sandals to go with the outfit and moved into the bathroom to fix my hair and maybe add some makeup.

I applied a coat of mascara and brushed my cheeks with a little blush. I finished off the look with a colorless lip gloss to add a little shine to my lips. I gave my hair a quick blow dry and left it down to hide my Molnija marks.

This made me wonder what Dimitri was going to do to hide his marks. When I walked out of the bathroom I got my answer. His hair was tide back into a tight pony tail at the base of his neck and he was wearing a suit and a tie. The collar of the suit covered his tattoos even if his hair did not. I knew his hair was silky enough that it would slowly slip out of the pony tail as the night wore on.

His eyes slowly and appreciatively took in my appearance. A smile grew bigger and bigger on his face. "You look amazing." He said as he walked over to place a careful kiss on my lip glossed mouth. "Just let me call Abe's guardians and tell them we are heading downstairs."

He made the call and we grabbed our fake ID's, cell phones and our cash. Abe had made me twenty-one, so going to clubs and ordering a drink wouldn't be a problem. I had a small black leather clutch that I found in the suitcase to put my ID, a lip gloss, and some cash. There was also a new silver stake in my suitcase and the clutch was big enough to fit that in as well. Dimitri could hide his silver stake under his suit jacket.

We unlocked the door and headed to the elevator. I was actually nervous to go on a date with Dimitri. I know it was totally silly of me to feel that way, especially after everything that we had gone through. I just couldn't help the butterflies in my stomach. We pressed the elevator call button and waited in the hall. I didn't see Abe's guardians yet.

As we stood in the hall waiting for the elevator to reach our floor the butterflies in my stomach started getting worse. I don't know why I was feeling so anxious. It was almost making me feel nauseous. The elevator finally arrived and we climbed in and pressed the lobby button. We had only gone down a floor or two when the nausea got really bad. I looked at Dimitri and at the same time reached for my stake. Dimitri reacting on impulse followed my lead by pulling out his stake. The elevator slowed and as the doors opened we pressed to the wall on either side of the elevator doors.

It only took a millisecond as the doors slid open for Dimitri and I to verify that there were two Strigoi waiting outside the elevator. We reacted so quickly that the Strigoi didn't have time to defend themselves or attack us. We drove the stake through their hearts at the exact same time and the lifeless bodies fell forward into the elevator.

We looked both ways down the hall and found there was no evidence of other Strigoi on the floor. That didn't mean there weren't more in our hotel. We got back on the elevator and had to ride the car down to the lobby before we could return to the top floor and our suite.

When the doors of the elevator opened in the lobby it looked as if it were only Dimitri and I standing in the elevator. We had propped the bodies on either side of the doors hidden from the view of anyone in the lobby area. We quickly pressed the door closed button and started moving back up to our floor.

Luckily we never stopped again until we reached the top floor. We scouted both directions, unlocked the door to our suite and quickly dragged the bodies from the elevator to our room. We thought the best place to leave them, without making a huge mess, would be the bath tub.

One was a woman who looked around forty and was probably a Moroi before she was awakened. The other was a man who looked like he had been human. Either way they didn't put up a fight and now they were dead. I wondered if Dimitri knew either one of these two.

"We need to call Abe and have the Alchemists come here and deal with these bodies and take care of any security footage." Dimitri said taking the leadership role like he had always done.

"I'll call. Can you go check the path from the elevator to our room and make sure there is no obvious blood that we can clean up before the Alchemists arrive?" I shivered at my nonchalance when talking about bodies and blood. Dimitri went off to be the cleaning crew and I called Abe.

Abe told me he would make all the calls. He would send his guardians up to wait for the Alchemists so that we could go to dinner like we planned. Dimitri came back and I relayed Abe's message. We cleaned up and luckily neither of us had blood on our clothes. That was amazing!

After the guardians arrived to wait for the Alchemists, Dimitri and I walked back out into the hall and pressed the elevator call button again. This time I didn't have one butterfly in my stomach, not even a flutter. I was completely relaxed and content to go on a date with my soul mate.

We got down to the lobby and crossed to the restaurant without incident. The Maître D' greeted us and led us to a cozy table in the corner. The whole way to the table we checked out the layout of the restaurant, the other patrons, the wait staff and the exits. By the time we sat down we were completely satisfied that we were safe for the time being.

The waiter came over within a minute and gave us water and bread. "Would you like to order a drink or perhaps a bottle of wine?"

I looked at Dimitri. Neither of us really drank. I used to but really I hadn't in a while…Unless you count all the Russian vodka at Dimitri's memorial service a few months ago. I wasn't sure it was a good idea considering what we already faced tonight.

"We'll take two glasses of your house wine." Dimitri replied to the waiter.

"Do you think we should be drinking?" I asked concerned by his decision.

"Rose, first of all the chance that we are going to have to fight more Strigoi tonight is slim, if we do have to, one drink isn't going to put us in jeopardy. All we have to do is make it up the elevator and back to the safety of our room." He reasoned.

"You're right." I gave him a big smile and relaxed some more.

We looked over the menus and discussed our options. We chose fried calamari and bruschetta for our appetizers. Dimitri ordered Steak Marsala with mashed potatoes and asparagus and I ordered Chicken Toscano with red peppers, asparagus and Portobello mushrooms over spaghetti.

When the appetizers arrived everything looked delicious. The appetizers were on fancy plates with herbs as a decoration. The waiter poured a little of the wine in the glass and gave it to Dimitri. I didn't think Dimitri knew what he was doing, but he sure looked like he did. He swirled the wine, looked at it, sniffed it and then tasted it. He nodded his approval to the waiter before he expertly poured us each a glass.

"How did you learn how to do that?" I asked amazed.

"Do what?" He raised one eyebrow and gave me a look that said he didn't have a clue what I meant, even though he absolutely did. I have got to learn to do that.

I didn't respond I just tried to mirror his facial expression. He tried to hold it together, but he couldn't. He cracked up. I have never ever seen Dimitri crack up.

I tried to give him an astonished look, but his laughter was contagious and I couldn't hold it in. We tried to stop, but the more we tried the harder it was to stop. I had tears streaming down my cheeks and my stomach hurt from laughing.

Luckily there weren't too many people sitting that close to us and we got one dirty look from a stuffy old guy. At another table two women looked our way like they were glad that we were enjoying our evening and –

"Hey, she just checked you out." I whispered to Dimitri the contagious laughter faded with my astonishment.

He just reached across the table and took my hand and brought it up to his lips. "That's okay Roza, because I only have eyes for you."

And it was true. He never looked her way once. I mean if someone told me that a guy just checked me out I think I would have to look just out of curiosity. Not Dimitri. He just kept eating and looking at me. I was not used to this. I spent the last year sneaking kisses behind trees and in the training gym, all this attention in public was- well not overwhelming- I can't really explain how it made me feel. I liked it a lot. It just made Dimitri even more hot and irresistible in my eyes, if that was possible.

"Rose? Have you gone to visit Lissa?" Dimitri was looking at me with concern. "Rose?"

"What? No. I'm here. I was just thinking if I could possibly love you any more than I do right now."

His face softened and the look of concern was replaced with devotion. He still had my hand in his and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know exactly what you mean."

Just then the waiter came over with our dinners. They not only looked wonderful, but they smelled wonderful too. We shared bites of each other's food and talked until our plates were cleaned. I had always dreamed about the two of us being able to go on a date. The closest we ever got was the roadside diner I talked him into stopping at when we had guardian business in Idaho for the academy. This dinner didn't even come close to my dream. It was a hundred times better. I couldn't even imagine that we would have this much fun laughing and chatting and eating together in a nice restaurant.

The waiter came to clear our plates and we ordered dessert. I thought I caught a look of surprise on his face before he hid it behind his professional waiter face. He walked away to get our desserts.

"Hey you never explained how you knew how to taste wine." I remembered as I sipped a little more of the great house wine.

"I learned from Lord Zecklos when I was his guardian. He went to a lot of nice restaurants and wine tastings. When we were at home he taught me how to taste wine like an expert. I haven't done it in a long time." He sat quiet for a moment absorbed in his memories of his deceased friend.

I noticed that he was lost in the past and tried to bring him back to the here and now.

"I think that waiter is amazed that we have eaten ever bit of food he had put in front of us and are still ordering dessert." I chuckled.

Like he knew I was talking about him he appeared with our desserts. Mine was a jasmine infused crème brulee and Dimitri ordered a tartufo. The crème brulee was a custard with fresh whipped cream on top with a red raspberry syrup drizzled as a decoration around the plate with an orange slice and a sprig of mint. Dimitri's was a chocolate ball in the center of his plate with shaved chocolate around the plate and a drizzle of raspberry sauce and a fresh raspberry with a sprig of mint and whipped cream.

"Ooh, yours looks chocolaty." I said with admiration. "What's inside that chocolate shell?"

"Let's find out." He took his spoon and broke through the chocolate shell revealing vanilla and chocolate ice-cream wrapped around crushed nuts and raspberries. He held up the spoon which contained a little of every part of the dessert for me to taste.

"It's delicious." I mumbled with my mouth still full of the dessert.

Dimitri gave me a soft smile and said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

I returned the gesture with a spoonful of my crème brulee. He enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed his.

We had them put the dinner on our room tab and left the restaurant. There were other restaurants and bars in our hotel, so we walked around to check them out. I didn't really want to drink anymore and we weren't really dressed for dancing in a night club so we found a piano bar and sat and listened to the music. We ordered soft drinks and they came all dressed up like they were cocktails with a stirrer and cherries, so we didn't stand out.

"So do you have any suspects in mind, Comrade?" I interrogated.

"No. I haven't really been around for the last few months." He looked me right in the eyes when he said that. I think he was waiting to soothe any pain his words would cause, but it didn't bother me.

"Things haven't changed that much in the last few months. Anything you might have thought after witnessing all those Royals in meetings at the ski lodge this winter? Or after that at Victor's trial when we go to go to the Royal Court?"

"Not anything that is standing out for me right now. I have been trying to think of who might want Tatiana dead and for what gain." He said back to his serious guardian demeanor. When I looked at him like that I was so proud that he was mine, but for tonight I wanted more of the fun bantering and laughing Dimitri. I had to change the subject.

We got a text telling us the Alchemists had come and done their job. The guardians would be down shortly to do a sweep of the lobby and hotel for any unwanted guests. Dimitri and I were told we should continue to enjoy ourselves and relax.

It was pretty late when we decided to go back upstairs. It was nearly midnight, but we couldn't call it a night yet, we had a date with the Belikov's. Because of the twelve hour time difference we had scheduled to call back later when the whole family had a chance to gather. Now it was lunch time in Baia. I could feel Dimitri's excitement rise as we rode the elevator back to our room.

Not only had it been a while since he had seen his family, he had also been turned Strigoi and they'd accepted him as dead. The family had his memorial service when I was there in April. I knew he missed them immensely and couldn't wait to re-connect with them on the phone. I could imagine how excited he would be if we could go for a real visit.

We got ready for bed, brushed our teeth and washed our faces. We just climbed into bed when the clock struck midnight. No pumpkins for us!

"Put it on speakerphone. I want to hear too…even if they talk in Russian." I think the novelty of the moment was affecting me too.

Dimitri switched to speaker phone and dialed his family's number. It only rang once this time.

"Allo?" Olena answered.

"Mama. It's me Dimitri." He spoke English for my benefit.

The answering noise on the phone at that moment was a room full of astonished cries of excitement and maybe tears of joy.

"Dimitri, I have missed you little brother. I am so glad that this miracle has brought you back to our family." Karolina said happily.

"Hey Karolina, I am glad to be back to the family. I miss you all."

"Hi Uncle Dimitri, this is Paul. I am glad you are back from the dead. When are you coming to visit?"

This brought laughter from everyone. Out of the mouths of babes.

"Hey Paul. How old are you now? I haven't seen you in a long time."

"I am 10 ½ Uncle Dimitri. I really don't remember you very well, but there are pictures of you around the house and I got to meet Rose. I like Rose." Paul rambled out so quickly it was almost hard to follow.

"Wow Paul you are getting so big. I will have to come home soon so that you will remember me and I will bring Rose to visit you again." Dimitri said matter of factly.

"Hi brother it's Sonya. I missed you so much. I cannot wait to see you again, so I hope you really meant that you were coming to visit soon. I am sure Rose told you about your new nephew, your namesake." Sonya said proudly.

"That is such an honor, Sonya. Thank you and congratulations." Dimitri replied humbly.

"Rose, I need to apologize for the way I treated you in April. Please forgive me." Viktoria expressed her regret in a pleading sorrow filled voice.

"Oh Viktoria, I know you were upset that night and I don't blame you. I forgive you." I said.

"Oh good, because I want you two to come here and visit and I didn't want the way we left things to ruin that chance." Viktoria explained. "I know that you love my brother and thank you for saving him."

"You are welcome, but I didn't do it alone. My bond-mate Lissa actually did the saving and her boyfriend Christian helped out a lot." I clarified.

"Viktoria, I miss you little sister. I haven't seen you since you were little. I was so glad that you and Rose hit it off so well when she visited this spring. We can't wait to come and see you and everyone else." Dimitri replied full of emotion.

"We can't actually come there right now though; some things have come up here that we need to take care of first. We are hoping to come soon though. In the time being I want you all to take care of one another and stay safe until we can be together again." I got the feeling Dimitri was trying to warn them without warning them that they may be in danger and it was because of us.

"We love you both. We cannot wait until you come here to visit. Did you have any other news you wanted to share with the family Dimka?" Olena nudged.

"Yes there is one more thing that Rose and I would like to share with you all. I asked her to marry me and she said yes." He said this so full of love and pride it made my heart grow two sizes bigger in my chest. I felt like I was going to explode.

Dimitri noticed my expression and reached over and laid a hand on my knee and gave a loving squeeze. I looked up from my knee and our eyes met and we both smiled a great big happy smile.

What a perfect way to end our perfect date. A joyous conversation with Dimitri's lovely family, the Bolikovs, a family that I was going to be part of someday.


	9. Chapter 8

8

Lissa let me know that her, Christian, Adrian, Mia and Eddie hadn't found anything worthy of telling us, but not to worry they were still digging.

Abe, my mother and Tasha however sent a text that they found out some interesting information. They wanted to meet us for breakfast at a small restaurant in their hotel across the street in an hour.

We were snuggled in each other's arms and not very excited about separating and putting clothes on. Yet we were very interested in finding out what new leads the trio received when they went on their mission to Las Vegas last night. We had to struggle with duty and responsibility when we wanted to give in to comfort and passion. Finally the responsible side of our natures won.

We climbed out of the bed and into the luxurious shower. At least one comfort was that we could shower together and get ready each at our own sink beside one another.

The shower was relaxing and hot. The steam beginning to fill the bathroom brought back the memories from our sensual tub and shower yesterday. Was that only yesterday? It seems like we have been lost in each other for a week. I am not complaining. I moved closer to Dimitri and reached for the soap.

He gave me that all too knowing look and said, "As much as I want exactly what you want, we have to get ready to go to breakfast."

"Spoil sport!" I whined at him playfully.

He drew me closer into his arms and gave me a kiss and then released me in such a way that I knew that was all the comfort I was going to get. It reminded me of some of our training sessions at St. Vlad's. I would complain hoping that Dimitri would go easy on me, but he would stick to his schedule and make me do everything he had planned.

We got ready quickly after that, because I stopped trying to sabotage our progress. Soon we had our hair blown dry and were dressed and ready to go. Dimitri had on charcoal grey slacks and a light grey short sleeve shirt. I picked out beige pants and a purple short sleeve blouse.

There was a knock at the door and we checked to find Abe's guardians ready to follow us across the street to the meeting place. We all got into the same elevator car and rode to the lobby. The car stopped once and a frail looking older woman with pure white hair got into the elevator with us. Dimitri asked her what floor she was going to and when we stopped there he made sure she made it out in safety. He actually held out his arm and he walked her to her room door before he returned to our elevator. The guardians weren't too thrilled with this, because they were supposed to protect us, but I thought it was so chivalrous.

We finally made it to the lobby and got out of the elevator. The guards were pretending not to know us and actually walked away to look at a brochure display before following about ten feet behind us. We left our building and crossed the street into the lobby of the hotel where Abe, my mother and Tasha were staying. We found their table easily and joined them. The waitress came to pour our coffees so quickly it was like they were on autopilot. She gave each of us a menu and then walked away giving us time to peruse. I chose a cheese and sausage omelet. When the waitress asked me how many eggs I asked her what a large was. She looked at me confused and then finally told me the biggest they had was a four egg omelet. I had her bring me two. Everyone else ordered their meals and we got down to business.

"So Old man, don't make us wait. What did you find out?"

"So Rose, Dimitri, how are you today?" Abe asked pleasantly ignoring my rude greeting.

"Fine sir," Dimitri replied pleasantly.

I just made a grunt of disgust and impatience.

"Rose?" My father asked tauntingly.

"I am fine too Dad, thank you for asking. I assume you are all well?" I complied giving my old man what he wanted. I broke down figuring it was the quickest way to get to what I wanted.

"We are fine too, right ladies?" Abe nodded at my mother and Tasha, who both nodded back. "What did we find out last night? We found that most of the dancers remember Eric. He appeared to be a regular customer at the Witching Hour doing business in Las Vegas every few months."

"I told you that before you went there yesterday. Did you find anything NEW?" I asked a little sarcastically.

"Rose, I expect you to be a little more respectful to your father. He is doing you a big favor trying to clear your name." My mother said in a biting tone.

"You're right. I am sorry. Abe, please go on." I said apologetically.

"We found that Eric has been going to this same hotel for at least the last twenty years. The manager has only been there for about ten years and one of the dancer's we spoke with had worked there for about 8 years. They mentioned a dancer named Sarah who has worked there for thirteen years and may know more information, but yesterday was her day off." Abe reported.

"Are you going back tonight then?" I demanded. I was so hopeful and nervous about finding Lissa's sibling that I was being downright rude to my father. My legs felt all restless and I was strumming my fingers on the table.

"Calm down Rose." Abe had reached out and held my hand quiet while he spoke. "I left my number for her to call me when she arrives at work this evening. I expect I could get the same information by phone without going there if I don't have to."

Dimitri caught my eye and I could see the calming thoughts he was sending my way. He placed his hand on my thigh and right away I felt much better. He always had the ability to calm the dark thoughts and the anger that built up inside me.

"Wait, so what you're saying is that no one knew of any affair that he has had in like the last ten years? So we are looking for a child older than nine or ten?" I posed.

"That pretty much sums it up. He had a few flings, but nothing that was long term or produced a child in the last ten years, in Las Vegas that is." Abe pronounced with certainty lacing his words.

"So now we wait for this Sarah person to call back. What happens if she doesn't know anything?" I mused.

"We still have Victor Dashkov." Tasha offered.

"Any word from your security doing the surveillance detail on him?" Dimitri asked of Abe.

"No movement yet."

Just then the waitress arrived with our steaming plates of food. Everything looked and smelled delicious. I grabbed my fork and had a bite in my mouth before my plate hit the table. Dimitri chuckled and smoothed the napkin out on my lap and then placed his own napkin on his lap, before he took a bite of his eggs.

I looked at him sheepishly and then whispered, "Thanks." He just smiled.

The waitress came back with a coffee pot to top off our coffees and then left us alone to chat once again.

"Do you think Victor has left the area?" I asked between bites.

"I have people checking all the private air strips in the area to see if he flew out of here. Robert owns a car, so it is possible they drove out as well." Abe said between his own bites of French toast. "I am going to dig a little deeper in that direction today."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked a little confused.

"It is probably better if you do not know." Abe replied evasively.

"So it is illegal, then. Speaking of…what exactly do you do for a living, Abe?" I had been waiting a while to ask that question.

"I import goods from around the world." He answered just as evasively as he had answered my last question.

"Illegal goods?" I inquired.

"No, not illegal Rose. Legally. I own stores that are like your Pier 1 in America. That is why I travel all over the world doing business." He stated proudly.

"That doesn't make any sense to me. How did you get the reputation like you were a ruthless mob boss if you just own a few stores?" I was so confused with his explanation. It didn't make any sense at all to me. I had seen the reaction of Rolan Kislyak when Abe sent his bodyguard to tell him to stay away from Dimitri's sister Viktoria. He was so scared he ran. Importing goods did not give people the scary reputations that Moroi and dhampir alike were afraid of.

"That reputation actually happened by accident. Really it was a blessing in disguise." Abe had a far off look in his eyes as he explained. "I gave this guy a ride in my car. I didn't know him at all, but he was walking down a long deserted road and it was approaching night fall. While we were driving he told me he was in trouble with some Russian criminals and he was on the lam. So we came up with this story that I had killed him for trying to swindle me and it allowed him to get away. We cut off his finger as proof of the dirty deed. The Russian criminals had been looking for him to pay up for a long time and that I was able to find him and supposedly 'take care of him' earned me a ruthless reputation."

"Why did you need a ruthless reputation as a businessman?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Rose, you don't understand the people I do business with and how bad some areas that I travel into are. If I have a reputation of being ruthless, then no one is going to try and swindle me or steal from me." He explained. "Well, except for you of course. You were pretty much the only person in Baia who has ever stood up to me."

I smiled at him. "It wasn't fair though, because you knew who I was and I didn't know who you were."

"And that makes it even more remarkable that you stood up to me. Rose sometimes it is good to have some fear. Fear makes you cautious." He dispensed sagely.

"I have been trying to teach her that for the last year." Dimitri offered discouragingly. "Good luck."

"I think I have already given up on trying forcing that issue. You must have the patience of a saint Dimitri."

"Isn't that the truth?" My mother added.

"Hey, stop talking about me like I'm not here." I pouted.

Tasha laughed. "Rose you are definitely one of a kind. You have a passion and a fire that burn so hot that sometimes you act before you think. That is what makes you so good at being a guardian. You must have a guardian angel or luck on your side though, because you continually come out of life or death situations intact."

"It is because of Lissa." She is my guardian angel. Bringing up Lissa made me think of her and test my bond. She was asleep.

We were all quiet for a moment while we finished up our breakfast. The waitress came over to re-fill our mugs of coffee one last time.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Dimitri ended the silence with his question.

"We return to our rooms and wait for some new information. If you hear anything you'll call us and likewise if we hear anything new we'll call you." Abe directed.

We left the Hampson Hotel and walked out into the oppressive Nevada heat. I was glad we were just going back into our air conditioned hotel. It had to be over 100 degrees out here. We didn't have to worry about Strigoi because it was mid morning in bright sunlight. Many of the Moroi wouldn't be out because of the full sun beating down. Moroi can take some sun, but too much weakens them.

We looked around a bit in the shops around the lobby area. Down a long hallway we found the pool, a Fitness Center, and a Game Room. There were a few video games, a ping pong table and a pool table. There weren't any other guests in the Game Room or the Fitness Center.

"I challenge you to a game of pool." I dared Dimitri.

"Sure. I think I can take you." He said full of confidence.

"Want to bet on it? A friendly wager, perhaps?"

"What did you have in mind Mrs. Salmonetti?"

"How about loser gives the winner a backrub, Mr. Salmonetti?"

"Okay, if you win I will give you a backrub. If I win you have to agree to go spar with me in the Fitness Center." Dimitri offered.

"Spar? We don't have any clothes to spar in." I said in a way that was meant to end the discussion.

"I saw clothes we could buy in one of the shops in the lobby. So if I win we go buy clothes and spar. Deal?" Dimitri had given this some thought apparently.

"Deal." I agreed reluctantly. Although on second thought it has been a while since I fought with Dimitri. The last time I fought non Strigoi Dimitri was Sunday of the field experience when I fought Jean, then Yuri and then pushed Dean Barnes out of the way and found I was fighting Dimitri. That was a few hours before we ended up making love in the cabin.

"Rose. Rose?" Dimitri started walking over to make sure I was okay. "Rose you need to pick a pool stick. Are you alright?"

"Sorry, I was thinking it might be fun to spar. It has been a while since you and I had a good fight." I said thoughtfully.

"Right. I remember the field experience." He rubbed absentmindedly at the side of his face near his eye. "And the cabin." He smiled, caught my eye, and we shared the memory without words.

"Who wants to break?" I said getting us both back to the game.

"You can break. I'll rack them up." He offered.

I did better than I thought I would on the break. I got a solid in the side pocket, so Dimitri was stripes. I did lousy on my next shot and scratched, so Dimitri was able to position the white ball for an easy shot. He got in two balls in a row and then missed his third, but managed to leave me without a shot. I accomplished the impossible and banked the shot off of the rail and into the corner pocket. Then I got lucky and the next shot was already lined up for me. I got that one in too. The third shot I missed and Dimitri had a pretty good shot. He made the next two balls and I was officially losing.

The game stayed close up until we each had a ball left on the table and the eight ball. Dimitri missed his shot and I got cocky. I had an easy shot. I did a teasing dance, talked myself up a little, and then hit the ball too hard and it bounced into the corner of the side pocket and didn't go in.

Dimitri mumbled something in Russian and moved around the table to take his shot.

"What was that Comrade?" I asked a little ruffled that I had missed such a gift shot.

"Russian saying. It means something like don't count your chickens before they hatch." Dimitri smiled at me. He was enjoying this far too much.

He took his shot and made it. Now he just had the eight ball left. I thought for sure he was going to throw it to give me another shot at winning, but he glanced in my direction, smiled and then said, "Eight ball that corner pocket." He pointed at the pocket he planned on making it into. He lined up his shot and then pausing to look up at me one more time. "Roza, how about I give you that backrub after we spar?" He made the shot without waiting for my answer. The eight ball slid smoothly into his chosen corner pocket.

I saw how happy he was that he won and he was going to give me my backrub too, so I guess we both were winners. I was looking forward to sparring with him, but I wanted the backrub so I pretended that I really didn't want to spar.

"Do we have to go buy clothes to spar in?" I whined.

"Silly, we can't spar in these clothes." He motioned his hands emphasizing his nice shirt and slacks.

"Oh, you're right. Come on lets go buy clothes." I sighed as I tugged his arm toward the exit.

He didn't budge and he tugged me back toward him and embraced me. He leaned down and gave me a big kiss. "Do I need to comfort the sore loser?" He teased.

"If this is the comfort, then yes I want more." I leaned back in for more kissing.

He laughed. "Come on let's go shopping."

We picked out sweatpants and a t-shirt and went up to our suite. There were his and hers locker rooms, but we didn't want to be alone in the locker room to change. It was safer to go to the room to change together. We went back down to the fitness room and it was still empty. There were already mats set out in a large area toward the back of the room so we went over and started doing our stretches and warm up exercises.

"Are we going to set up any rules for fighting?" When we were back at St. Vladimirs Academy there had been rules about hitting above the shoulders.

"No, you're out it the real world now. There aren't any rules when you are fighting Strigoi, as you know."

"Okay then, no rules. Let's go."

With that agreement we stood up and met in the middle of the floor. We got into fighting stances and were both waiting for the other to make the first move. I got tired of waiting and feinted to the right and then darted to the left. Dimitri saw me and moved, but not before I landed a blow on his upper arm that was meant for his chest. He immediately returned the blow and I saw it coming. I moved out of the way and tried for a kick, but Dimitri anticipated it and dodged and landed a blow in my shoulder. I stumbled back and then caught my balance before I fell. I dodged his next attempt and responded with a left to the side of his face. He moved out of the way and I felt just his hair brush my hand.

It went on like this for a long time. Sometimes I would make contact with him and a few more times he made contact with me. He taught me everything I knew, so we were pretty evenly matched, except for his height and reach and the extra 100 pounds. We fought until we were both sweaty and exhausted and starting to make some obvious mistakes. I did a round house kick that clocked him in the side of the head and he went down. I immediately went to his side and checked to make sure he was okay. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving.

"Dimitri, are you okay? Dimitri?" I lifted an eye lid to see if there was any movement in his pupil. He laughed and pulled me in for a kiss. I enjoyed the kiss, but I was really scared that I had injured him.

"Wait, that is not funny. I thought I hurt you. I was worried and you were just pretending." I was still filled with all the adrenaline from fighting and my breathing was heavy from the workout.

"Rose, you did hurt me. You got me good. I think there will be a bruise there tomorrow. I'm sorry I pretended that you knocked me out, if I didn't though we would be fighting each other all night. One of us had to give in and I knew it wouldn't be you." He reached his hand behind my neck and wrapped his hand in my damp hair. He pulled me down for another kiss.

We decided to go back up to our room and shower before our activities turned R-rated. Dimitri grabbed our bag with our cell phones, room key and silver stakes, and the two of us headed back up to our suite. Our sparring had been strenuous so we definitely needed a shower.

I thought I heard the phone ring while we were in the shower, but we were both lathered in soap suds and they would just have to leave a message. Judging by the time it was probably Abe, my mother or Tasha. It was too early for it to be anyone from the Royal Court.

When I checked my missed calls there was one from Abe. His message bothered me a little. He had left me a voicemail to call him back when we weren't busy. Then he chuckled and before he hung up he commented to someone else in the room about honeymooners. I really didn't want to think those thoughts about my parents and didn't want them thinking them about me either. Yuck!

"What did Abe want?" Dimitri asked coming up behind me. Neither of us had bothered to put clothes back on after the shower, so his skin felt warm and soft against my back.

"He wants us to call him back when we weren't '_busy' _and then some muttering under his breath about _honeymooners_." I complained.

Dimitri just laughed and pulled me tighter against him. He kissed me on the cheek, down my neck and on to my shoulders. "Well the man speaks the truth." His voice had deepened and was gravelly.

I turned in his arms so that we were facing each other, but I stayed pressed up just as tightly. I kissed his mouth softly and he returned the kiss until it deepened and promised so much more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me so that my legs were wrapped around his waist. I dropped the phone I had been holding onto the floor. Abe could wait.


	10. Chapter 9

9

My stomach started growling and that put an end to our lazy afternoon siesta. We decided to get up and get dressed and then call Abe to find out what new information they might have found.

Dimitri brought me a water bottle from the fridge and we sat in the chairs in the corner of the bedroom.

"Did you want to get room service again or go down to that sandwich shop in the lobby?"

"The sandwich shop looked good when we passed it this morning." I was starving and could eat just about anything at this point. Dhampirs could eat a lot in general it wasn't only because of all the physical activity and training. "We should call Abe and then we'll go downstairs."

I found my cell on the floor near the bed and flipping it open pressed the speed dial for Abe's number.

"Well it's about time." Abe chuckled into the phone.

"Hey Abe, how are you? What's new?" I asked politely. You can't say I don't learn from my mistakes.

"Well we got a call back from our friend Sarah a little earlier than I had expected. She had worked with a woman, a dancer, who had little girl around 2 years old. She isn't sure who the father is, but said that she had seen Eric with them once. Shortly after that the woman quit working as a showgirl and moved out of state." Abe reported to me.

"Did she remember a name or anything that would help us identify her?" I pressed.

"Sarah had mentioned that the girl must have gotten her hair and eyes from her father because the mother had long black silky hair and blue eyes and the little girl had dirty blond curls and pale green eyes." Abe rewarded me by filling in these most important details.

Something tugged at the back of my memory, but I couldn't quite grasp it.

"So do you think we could get our hands on company files, Like the Witching Hour's employee records?" Abe should be able to do this, he has all the connections.

"I already tried that, but they destroy the records after seven years and it has been nearly thirteen years." Abe sounded a little dour. "We just need to find Victor to fill in the missing information."

"Okay. Well I don't have anything new to share with you so Dimitri and I are going to eat lunch. I'll chat with you later." I ended the conversation and turned to Dimitri. I filled him in on what Abe had shared with me and we grabbed our things to go down stairs for lunch.

The lobby was a bustle of activity. There was a big group of senior citizens checking in. The bus that brought them was parked in front of the hotel and their luggage was being unloaded onto hotel bellman's carts.

We wove our way through the crowds and into the small sandwich shop. Luckily the restaurant wasn't crowded like the lobby area. We went up to the counter and studied the menu. I ordered a steak and cheese sub and Dimitri got a grilled Rueben. We found a booth in the corner of the restaurant and waited for our order to be ready.

"I have this weird feeling that I know something that I can't seem to pull out of my brain." I mentioned a little frustrated and distracted.

"Like it is on the tip of your tongue? Perhaps you are trying too hard to remember. Maybe if you relax and think about something else it will come to you." Dimitri offered helpfully.

I sighed and put my head down on the table. Dimitri reached over and played with a few strands of my hair. It felt really good.

"Keep doing that, it feels good and it is definitely helping me relax." I mumbled into my arm.

"I could do this all day. I love your hair and I love the way it slips through my fingers."

"I know you love it long. That is why I never want to cut it short like my mother or Alberta. Though I have to admit there have been quite a few fights lately where my opponents have used my hair against me. When I fought Galina I thought she was going to rip my hair out when she lifted me off the floor with it."

"You can cut it if you want, but if you don't want to you just need to find a way to tie it up that works in a fight. I'll help you test out some styles if you want. Sparring today was fun." He kept playing with my hair while he spoke. I opened one eye and looked up into his contented face.

"I enjoyed it too." I sighed. I was definitely feeling more relaxed. "When we go back up after lunch I think that back rub will help me relax."

"Good idea. We can buy some cookies and milk for dessert and bring them up with us too. Cookies and milk always made me feel safe and comfortable." That must be something to do with growing up with a mom. They never gave us milk in cookies in the dorm rooms at St. Vladimirs.

"I'll take your word on the milk and cookies." Dimitri looked at me sadly realizing that I grew up in the academy and not a home.

"No, I will get you milk and cookies and you will find out for yourself, Roza." He reached over and lifted my face off of my arm and then leaned in and gave me a kiss. "I love you and I want you to know what home and family are with me. You are my family. You are my home."

"I love you too." I was so moved by what he said that I could feel the tears starting to burn in my eyes. I didn't want Dimitri to see me almost crying so I put my head back on my arms. My plan was foiled when they called that our lunches were ready.

"You stay. I'll get the food and bring it over." He was giving me the opportunity to pull myself together. When he walked away from the table I grabbed a napkin and dabbed the moisture from my eyes. I took a few deep breaths and felt better.

Dimitri slid my plate down in front of me and then took a seat next to me instead of across from me. He pulled me into a hug and murmured against my hair quietly. "I didn't mean to upset you. I know you didn't have what I had growing up, and I want to give it to you. Only if that is what you want. No pressure."

Did he really think that he was pressuring me? This was my dream come true. "Of course I want that with you. More than anything else I want that. We can't have children though, not without a Moroi."

"I didn't mean that we had to have children to be a family. I meant you and I will be a family. If we decide to have children someday, then we can discuss our options at that time, okay?"

I never thought that children were an option for us. "I would be honored to be your family. I almost stayed in Baia with yours actually. I really felt at home there. And as far as children, we can definitely discuss them later. Like way later." I smiled thinking about little Dimitris running around.

He laughed, "Yes, I agree. Way later. Here's your sandwich and your napkin to put on your lap." He handed me the napkin to spread out on my pants. We sat quietly enjoying our lunch. When I finished my sandwich I looked over and saw that he hadn't touched his pickle. I had eaten mine first.

"Are you goin' to eat that pickle?"

He picked up the pickle and waved it in front of my face. "This pickle?"

"Yes." He zoomed it through the air like a jet plane and landed the pickle right in my mouth. I couldn't help laughing. It is hard to chew pickle and laugh at the same time.

We finished up our lunch, picked out some fresh baked chocolate chip, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin cookies to bring upstairs with us. We bought two small milks to go with the cookies. On the way back to the suite Dimitri wanted to stop at one of the boutiques to buy some massage oil. We found some vanilla scented oil and bought some candles to make the atmosphere a little more calming and romantic.

When we got upstairs I took off my clothes and laid down on the bed for my backrub. Dimitri warmed the oil in his hands before putting it on my back.

"Let me know if I hurt you or if I press too hard and I will be more gentle." I didn't have to say anything because his hands were strong and gentle at the same time. He didn't just concentrate on my back he massaged my whole body. He started with my neck and shoulders and then worked down one side of my body and back up the other side. He concentrated most of his time on my back. I was so relaxed I was teetering on the edge of consciousness.

Dimitri stayed quiet the whole time allowing me to completely relax and my mind to wander. I was thinking of Lissa, Christian and Mia back at the Royal Court. I wondered about Adrian and how he was dealing with the realization that as a couple we were finished and I was back with Dimitri. I wondered if Eddie had agreed to help or if he finally came to his senses and decided to stay far away from anything that had to do with Rose Hathaway.

Dimitri finished my full body rub and pulled the sheet over me so I wouldn't be too cold. He lay down next to me still not saying a word. I had my eyes closed and I wondered if he thought I was asleep. I was so relaxed that my breathing was deep and even like I was sleeping.

I moved my arm. It felt like it was jelly but I managed to lift it over Dimitri and let him know I wanted him to come closer. He sat back up and lifted his shirt over his head and then slipped off his pants. He snuggled in close to me and pulled up the covers.

I was suddenly in Lissa's nightmare. I had learned to shield most of time, but I must have been so relaxed that my shield was down. It was the nightmare where she relived the experiences of the car accident that killed me and killed her family. She hadn't had this nightmare since we'd left Portland. I wonder why she was having it again. I thought this nightmare stopped when she came out as a spirit user and with her relationship with Christian.

I sat up and looked around for my cell phone. I remembered it was in the clutch that I had brought down to lunch. I slid out from under a sleeping Dimitri and got my cell out to call Lissa. I didn't want to wake him so I grabbed a robe from the bathroom and went to sit on the couch. Lissa didn't answer right away, but I knew as soon as she awoke from the nightmare, because the fear coming through the bond calmed a little.

"Hello?" She said sleepily.

"Liss, you okay. It was only a dream sweetie. Everything is okay. You and I are okay." I said soothingly.

"Rose. Thank you. You always know how to make me feel better."

"Is Christian there with you?" I hoped he was so that he could comfort her with more than just words.

"No, he is in his room. I was hanging out with Adrian tonight practicing spirit and he was with Mia practicing defensive spells. We are going to meet for breakfast in the morning." She explained.

"He'd come over if you called him. Why don't you have him come over and spend the rest of the night with you so you don't have to be alone." I hoped that she wouldn't brush off my suggestion. I could still feel her fear and uncertainty through the bond.

"Yeah, good idea I will do that." She said truthfully.

"You better not be saying that just to appease me because I cannot be there with you. You know I can feel it if you don't call him." I warned.

"Rose, I promise as soon as I hang up with you I'll call him." I knew she was telling me the truth so I told her I loved her and hung up. I popped into her head for a second.

Lissa hung up from our call and hit Christian's number. It rang quite a few times before he answered.

"Lissa?" He croaked out sleepily.

"Christian, I'm sorry I woke you up. I had a bad dream and Rose suggested that I call you to come over to my room."

"Of course I'll come over." He knew that if I was involved it meant that Lissa was pretty upset.

They hung up with each other and a few minutes later there was a knock at the door. I waited until she let him in and Christian had wrapped her in a soothing hug before I broke the connection.

I snuck back into my room and back into the bed with Dimitri. He stirred as I tried to snuggle closer to him under the covers. "Is everything okay with Lissa?"

"I'm sorry I woke you. I tried to be quiet. Everything is okay now. She had a nightmare and I called her to wake her from it. Now Christian has gone to her room to be with her, so she should be fine."

He pulled me into his arms. "You are such a good friend. Lissa is lucky to have you."

"And I am lucky to have her. You and I both wouldn't be here without her."

"Did Lissa and Christian get back together? Last I knew they still hadn't made up." Dimitri had spent a lot of time with Lissa after she turned him back to a dhampir. They had a weird connection that made Lissa feel responsible for Dimitri.

"Oh sorry I forgot to tell you they made up the night we escaped. She finally asked him if he had a relationship with either Mia or Jill – Jill! Dimitri that is what I have been trying to piece together. Jill's mother is a dancer. They live in Detroit and Jill has curly light brown hair and light green eyes. She is almost fifteen years old. Everything fits." I sat up and reached over to grab my cell phone again. I thought of calling Lissa so that I could get Jill's number from Christian, but a quick check with the bond told me that she was busy with Christian.

I decided to call Abe and tell him and my mom. He picked up the phone on the second ring.

"Hello Rose. I hope everything is okay." Abe asked a slight concern in his voice.

"Abe, I remembered something that I think is important. There is a girl at St. Vladimirs that you met actually, Jill. Her mom is a dancer and she has Black hair and blue eyes, but Jill has curly light brown hair and pale green eyes."

"Do you know where they are now?" Abe sounded hopeful.

"Yes, Emily Mastrano works for a dance company in Detroit." I remembered Jill telling me that when I helped them carry boxes to their car after graduation.

"Well, perhaps we should go on a road trip to Detroit and get some tickets to see a dance show. Get packed and I will order the jet to be ready for lift off in the morning."

We hung up and I relayed the information to Dimitri about packing for departure to Detroit, Michigan in the morning.

"Well that means we better enjoy our last evening here as Mr. and Mrs. James Salmonetti." Dimitri looked at me lying next to him in the bed. "You stay here. I'll be right back."

When he came back he had a tray with milk and cookies on it. We sat in the bed eating cookies. Dimitri told me a bedtime story that was the Russian version of Beauty and the Beast. He was absolutely right about milk and cookies feeling like home. I was perfectly at home eating cookies in bed with him.

"You know we haven't tried out the hot tub yet. How about we go see how hot it is out there on the balcony? Or we could occupy ourselves until after dark and then try the hot tub."

"I am all for occupying ourselves until it is dark and then trying the hot tub." I put my empty milk bottle on the tray and Dimitri put the tray on the table in the corner.

I snuggled into him when he got back into the bed. "Did you learn anything from calling your contacts with the Badica and Zecklos guardians?"

"I called my friends and they said that both families were on the up and up. No secrets. The Zeckos's voted to pass the lower guardian graduation age because they thought it would help our current guardian shortage situation. None of the Zecklos family was at the Royal Court when the murder occurred. The Badica's had been at the Royal Court, but my contact said there is no way that they had anything to do with the murder. The family had enough trauma at Christmas when the Strigoi attacked and killed an entire Badica household."

So no new information there. I made a quick check of the bond with Lissa and found that she was sleeping. I would have to wait for a few hours to call her and Christian. Adrian would be asleep as well and I really wasn't sure how I was going to make that phone call.

"Well that leaves us without any new leads to help prove that I am innocent." I snuggled closer and put my head on his chest. Dimitri slid his arm around me and squeezed me with a reassuring hug.

"It will work out. Look how far we've come in two days finding Eric's child. We are not sure that Jill is the one, but we're going to find out tomorrow. Everything will fall into place with finding the murderer too." He kissed the top of my head.

"Do you mind if we talk about Novosibirsk?" I asked pensively. I immediately felt his body stiffen. He realized what he had done and he tried to force himself to relax. "We don't have to talk, never mind."

"No Rose, ask anything. It's okay." I definitely think his heart was beating a little faster. I pressed myself up on my elbow and looked him in the eyes.

"Are you sure? Because I mean-"

Dimitri interrupted "Rose! Ask please. I am fine." I took a deep breath and thought before I formulated my first question.

I laid my head back on his chest. "Do you think badly of me because I hesitated to kill you on the street and let you drink my blood?"

"Roza, I can't even imagine the pain you were in during that time. I cannot blame you or think badly of you no matter what. No one knows how they will react when faced with someone they love as a Strigoi."

"Tasha was able to battle her own brother to save Christian." I pointed out.

"Tasha wasn't alone. She had guardians with her to protect her and then they were killed. She knew her brother meant to kill her and take Christian and she wasn't going to allow that to happen"

"But I had been searching for over a month for you and when I found you I froze."

"I don't think badly of you for that. Now knowing how it all turned out I am glad you froze or I wouldn't be here." He had relaxed again and was running his fingers up and down my arm. "As for the blood you really didn't have much choice. The situation was pretty bad and you were a prisoner. You actually played it really cool. You had the evil me fooled, stabbed me with a wooden stake, and got out of your prison. Fought another Strigoi, found a stake, fought and killed Galina and escaped."

"I replayed that night on the bridge over and over analyzing it at first to try and figure out if eventually you would have said you loved me and then after your letter I analyzed it for my mistakes." I admitted.

"Rose, Strigoi cannot love. They are too selfish. They want instant gratification and to have the most power. They use the memories that come with the body to get what they want." He tilted my chin up so that he could look me in the eyes again. "You did nothing wrong that night. You escaped and lived. That was the right thing to do. I taught you that sometimes you fight and sometimes you run and you did both of those things." His eyes were filled with concern. "Rose, what happened there at Galina's was my fault. I kidnapped you and drank your blood and tried to trick you into becoming Strigoi. You outsmarted me. You should be proud of yourself." He brushed a stray hair out of my face.

"I loved you so much I tried to make it work with Strigoi you for the first few days and then I realized that you were just tricking me, but it was still hard to fight you, and kill you."

"I know from experience that there was no soul and nothing humane left of me in that Strigoi. I was a prisoner too. I am lucky that I was freed, but I don't think Lissa can save everyone. If you come across another Strigoi that you know I hope you will free them the only way we can, by killing them."

"How did you spy on me, both at St. Vlads and at the Court?" I traced scars on his chest with my fingers.

"There are a lot of humans that can be compelled into doing things for Strigoi. There are also a lot that do it for the promise of immortality." I remembered that Sydney the Alchemist had shared that information with me in Siberia.

"What if you called them now and asked them for favors. Do you think they would know you are not Strigoi? We killed everyone that was there that night, so no survivors means no witnesses." I was formulating a plan.

"What do you have in mind?" Dimitri asked curiously.

"Are there any more of your Strigoi network that you left behind that night that noticed your absence?"

"No, I left a few people in charge in Russia and came here a few weeks after you left. I knew I had until graduation to wait for you to leave St. Vlads."

That made sense. "So your connection of Strigoi here was destroyed that night. Are your humans still around?

"Yes, what do you want me to tell them to do?" He trusted me and my plan.

"Find Victor Dashkov."


	11. Chapter 10

10

Dimitri called his former spy network and set them looking for Victor Dashkov. He instructed them to call the minute they found him. He also made it clear that he was not to know that he was being watched.

While Dimitri was calling I used the free minute to check on Lissa through the bond. I found that she was awake and getting ready in her room. Christian must have gone back to his room to get ready, because he wasn't in her room. I decided now was as good a time as any to call her and check in. I grabbed my cell.

"Hello Rose." Lissa picked up the phone on the first ring.

"Hey Liss, you sound better this morning. I guess you slept better after Christian came over."

"Yes, thanks for telling me to call him. Having him here really made a difference. I slept great after that."

"No problem. So is anything new? How's Adrian?" I asked pensively.

"Not really much is new here. I finally bumped into Eddie and he said he would keep his ears open for any new or useful information. Mia and Christian are doing the same." She stopped and took a breath. I could tell that she needed to tell me something, but she didn't want to.

"Just tell me Liss, I know you don't want to, but you have to." I urged.

"I can't hide anything from you." Exasperated she finally broke down. "Adrian is not doing well at all. He is very depressed and is refusing to come out of his room. The good news is I think he is running out of alcohol in his room so he'll have to come out soon to replenish his supplies."

"I was afraid that would happen. Liss, he orders alcohol to be delivered to his room, so that is not going to help." I was worried now. This was entirely my fault.

I heard a beep through the phone. "Rose, hold on Christian's calling on the other line." She switched over to talk with him for a minute or two. "Rose, you'll never guess, Mia found out some useful information."

"What Liss? Tell me!"

"Well her father found out that the maintenance worker in your building that night, the one who said Adrian showed up at 9:20, was paid to say that." Lissa reported.

"What? Who paid him and what time did Adrian really get to my room?" I couldn't believe this. This one tidbit could clear my name if we could prove he lied at the hearing.

"The maintenance worker told Mia's father that Daniella Ivashkov paid him to say 9:20, when Adrian actually got there at 7:00."

"Hold up! Why would Daniella do that? She was so

nice to me." I was bewildered by this turn of events. "Lissa is Mia sure this is true and not just gossip?"

"Rose, do you want me to go and ask this guy myself?" She offered.

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind doing just that I think I could believe the information. I could even go with you and listen in on the conversation. If I think of anything different to ask maybe I could text you."

"Sure Rose. I will see if Mia knows where to find him and I will bring her and Christian with me." She was happy that she could provide me with something useful that might be a valuable contribution to my defense.

I just couldn't figure out if it were true, what Daniella had against me to ruin my alibi. "Thanks Liss, will you call when you find the guy so that I can watch?"

"I will call you as soon as I know when we are going to see him. I love you Rose and tell Dimitri I love him too, take care."

"Ditto Liss! Bye." And with that we both hung up.

"What was that all about?" Dimitri said from across the room. "You seemed pretty animated for part of that phone call."

I explained what Liss had found out. Dimitri listened patiently while I summed up all the times I had met or interacted with Daniella and how she was nice to me every time. Her ruining my alibi didn't make sense to him either. Essentially she ruined Adrian's alibi at the same time.

I also filled him in on Adrian's current condition including the fact that he refused to leave his room. Dimitri suggested that I give him a call. I gave him the 'do I have to' look and he gave me the 'it's the responsible thing to do' look.

"I know you Rose. You won't be happy with yourself if you don't call and try to smooth things out between you." He handed me back my cell phone that I had placed on the side table.

I plopped back on the bed next to him and dialed Adrian's number. It rang so many times I thought it was going to voicemail for sure. Just when I was about to hang up Adrian answered.

"Hello." His voice was raspy from sleep and from smoking too many cigarettes.

"Hi Adrian it's Rose. I hope I didn't wake you."

"You cannot wake that which is not asleep." He sounded out of it. I wasn't sure if he was drunk or if he was having one of his crazy episodes.

"So how are you?" I hoped he would answer me truthfully even if it hurt.

"I am fine Rose, what do you want?" He snapped.

I definitely was not expecting anger, but I deserved it, so I ignored his tone of voice and answered his question. "I don't want anything. I just called to see how you were doing. Adrian, you are my friend and I care about you."

"Friend? I thought we were more than that Rose. I loved you. I really thought you were giving me a chance, but I was fooling myself. You were just biding your time with me until you could get Dimitri back."

"Adrian, you have every right to be angry with me. I just wanted to say I do love you and I really did give 'us' a try. I am sorry for how things turned out."

He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "I know that Rose. I am just having a hard time with this whole thing. I really thought we were going to work."

"Adrian, even if Dimitri didn't come back there were too many obstacles against the two of us surviving in a relationship, your mother being the biggest one." I hoped that leading the conversation to Daniella would provide me with some more clues.

"What do you mean? My mother liked you and even my aunt, the queen, liked you. They had gotten used to us being together and eventually everyone else would have." He sounded like he truly believed that, so I hated to tell him that he was wrong, but it was necessary to find out more information.

"Adrian, your mother pulled me aside that night we went there for dinner, it was when you went to find your coat. She told me that she knew we would never work together so she was fine with us spending time together as long as when we broke up I didn't break your heart too badly. Apparently your Aunt agreed."

"That can't be true." He couldn't think badly of his mother. That was understandable.

"Adrian, ask her yourself if you don't believe me." I said truthfully. "Maybe you could get showered and go over there for breakfast."

"Yes, I think I will do that. Goodbye Rose."

I was just about to say goodbye when I heard the click and then dial tone. I closed my phone and put it on the side table. I snuggled in close to Dimitri.

"I don't think that was very helpful." I moaned.

Dimitri pulled me closer and comforted me. "From what I could hear it wasn't bad. Adrian may not have heard your words just now, but he will remember them and internalize them later."

"I hope so. He didn't seem to know about his mother at all. She must have kept her conditional acceptance of our relationship a secret from him." I guessed that made sense. If she told him then it would probably drive him right into my arms. I really thought about our conversation for a few minutes.

"You know Daniella was there the day that they questioned you in the sun and I tried helping with that little boy. When I was leaving she pulled me aside and told me I really helped your case. Then she invited me to some soirée at their house later that day. I actually missed the party because of my web chat with Sydney about the stolen Dragomir file. Adrian came by later really upset." I summed up the last week I had spent interacting with Adrian and Daniella.

"She sounds like she is protecting her son." Dimitri said wisely.

"So she wanted me out of the picture, but didn't want him hurt at the same time. My being with you instead of him hurt him."

"You being in jail instead of with either of us would hurt him a lot less." Dimitri concluded.

"What? I never thought of that. You know you are right. She was also there every time I mouthed off and threatened the Queen. Was she in church that morning when we fought too?" I hadn't noticed who was in church I was just focused on Dimitri.

"Yes, I think she was in church. Nathan was there with her." Dimitri said thoughtfully.

"Okay so all of this is pretty circumstantial. How do we prove any of it?"

"I think we need to start with the maintenance worker. There must be someone in the Queens house that saw or allowed Lady Ivashkov in that night. If we could find someone willing to talk that would help you too." Dimitri was right. We needed to use all the people in the support positions. They would be the ones to help us.

"So let me get this straight. We are saying Daniella took the opportunity to frame me for killing the queen just to get me away from Adrian without breaking his heart. It had nothing to do with political gain?" I asked incredulously.

"No, she could have done it for political reasons too, but saving Adrian's heart was the reason she framed you for the murder."

As crazy as this sounded, it fit. I couldn't believe that Lady Ivashkov could pull off the staking by herself though. She just didn't seem that capable or strong to stab the queen through the heart. "Well it's a good theory until we get another one."

"It's dark out now did you want to bring out the candles and try out our hot tub?" Dimitri was already pushing the covers aside and getting out of the bed. "I think we should wear suits, it's not that private out there."

I jumped up to find my bathing suit where it was still packed in the suitcase. I went to the bathroom and put it on. Dimitri joined me with his suit on and we walked to the balcony door. Even though the sun had gone down it was still warm outside. We lit the candles around the hot tub and climbed in. It was really hot at first, but then it felt great.


	12. Chapter 11

11

We had our bags all packed and lined up at the door. I hated to leave this place. It had been the best two days of my entire life. Dimitri came out of the bedroom with a garment bag that held our wedding attire.

"Don't want to leave these behind. We may need them someday soon." He smiled brightly at me and I returned the smile. Honestly, I couldn't wait to become Mrs. Dimitri Belikov, but I knew unless we cleared my name that could never happen.

"Is this everything then?" I surveyed the 3 suitcases and the garment bag.

"Yes, and I called Abe's guardians. They are stopping by to help us carry our luggage down. Abe has the car for us out front and Janine, Tasha and Abe are already in theirs and grabbing a quick bite on their way out of town."

"Wow! When he says move out at 8:00, he really means it." I went to the mini-fridge to grab a drink. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Orange juice?" Dimitri questioned, unsure of just what was in the refrigerator.

"Good choice." I grabbed two bottles of orange juice out of the fridge and walked back toward the door.

There was a knock at the door signaling that Abe's guards had arrived and it was time to leave our fairy-tale honeymoon suite. I gave one last wistful look around and sighed.

Before Dimitri opened the door he swept me into his arms. His soft, full lips found mine and he kissed me tenderly. The last two days of lovemaking and passion swirled through my mind like my life flashing before my eyes. I was warm and tingly all over my body.

"Roza, I love you. What we have is more than this hotel room. No matter where we go, we will have each other." He let me go and took my hand in his. "Ready?" he asked.

I looked at him and tears filled my eyes. "I love you too and I know we have more than this room, I just feel so safe here in your arms." I squeezed the hand holding mine and said, "Ready."

Dimitri checked through the peephole in the door before opening it to Abe's guards. They nodded at us and each grabbed a suitcase. Dimitri grabbed the remaining suitcase and I took the garment bag. We moved as one toward the elevator, pressed the call button and waited for it to arrive. It didn't take long and our group swiftly moved on and pushed the button for the lobby. The elevator only stopped once and an older gentleman and young woman dressed in power suits and carrying briefcases stepped on.

When the elevator doors opened at the lobby the business man and woman started making their way out of the elevator. Dimitri grabbed my arm and whispered, "Back exit. Now!"

I quickly glanced up and caught site of a dozen guardians that I recognized from the Royal Court entering the lobby of our hotel. Abe's guardians caught sight of them as well and the four of us exited the elevator in a blur of motion and split up.

I was so glad Dimitri and I had explored the hotel amenities yesterday and knew of several back exits near the game room and two others from the locker rooms to the outdoor pool.

I was shocked when I looked up and I was with one of Abe's guardians and not Dimitri. My heart started thumping and fear washed through me. This can't be happening. I cannot lose Dimitri now.

We ran past the game room and into the fitness center. We bolted into the men's locker room without a concern that it may be occupied. The guardian that was with me, Peter, was speaking rapidly into a microphone. I hadn't even known that they had that equipment on them. We emerged into the bright sun at the edge of a desert oasis. There was a beautiful outdoor pool deck with trees, gardens and fountains. It looked more like we were in the rainforest than in the middle of the desert.

Peter led me to a gated exit, semi hidden by a row of bushes and we were suddenly in a back parking lot. The industrial feel of the parking area and the heat of the blacktop a stark contrast to the lush tropical pool area we just left. The black stretch limo pulled in front of us and we dove in.

To my horror Dimitri wasn't inside. I frantically looked at Peter for answers. He was already grabbing a cell phone out of his pocket and hitting a number on speed dial. I tried to catch his conversation, but it wasn't in English.

When his conversation was over I demanded answers. "What's happening? Where's Dimitri? Did he get caught?" My voice came out ragged with worry and breathless from my run through the hotel.

"Calm down Rose, everything will be fine." Peter stated, without an ounce of sympathy in his voice. I wondered what kind of grades he got on his exams, because his 'bedside manner' stunk!

"I will not calm down until you tell me exactly what is going on!" I demanded again.

The limo started picking up speed as we left the confines of the city and the open desert stretched out before us. I looked around frantically. I had to stop the limo from leaving without Dimitri. Had he been caught?

"Stop! Stop! We can't leave without Dimitri. If he's been caught, we need to rescue him." I screamed at Peter and the driver. I was starting to panic.

The limo did not slow down. In fact I could feel the car accelerating. I looked at Peter. He reached for one of my hands, but I pulled back from him and gave him a look of death. This couldn't be happening. I sat back into the plush leather and tried to not hyperventilate. I looked around and tried not to cry as the car brought back a rush of memories of Dimitri and I in our wedding finest and toasting with champagne. Could that have been just two days ago. It felt like a lifetime.

"Rose, everything is going to be fine. You'll see. My partner and Dimitri are two of the best guardians I have ever met." His voice had turned from professional and businesslike to friendly and soothing.

I stared at him. I wondered what good that little piece of equipment attached to his ear was if he didn't know where Dimitri was. What was he hiding from me?

"Can I use your communication device, please?" He looked at me startled and then tried to hand me his cell phone. "Not the phone." I shook my head and pointed to his ear piece.

"This will not help you. I fear my partner must have lost his in the chase. He has not responded since we separated." He cast his eyes down to his shoes as he spoke.

"Then who were you talking to when we were running away?" I asked accusingly.

"The driver." He pointed to our limo driver. That made sense. He had picked us up right outside the pool gates.

I sat back again and tried to calm my breathing. I wasn't going to help anyone if I passed out. I had to think of a plan. Dimitri has a cell phone, but if he is hiding the ringing could alert the chasing guardians to his whereabouts.

"Did you call Abe?"

"Yes, their car was going to swing back and see if they could find them. We are to continue to the airstrip, where we will all meet up." Peter was back to his professional business tone of voice.

Just then the phone rang, but it wasn't Peter's phone, it was mine. I dug it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. Abe. Not Dimitri. I flipped open the phone and sighed. "Abe, did you find them?"

"Roza, Abe told me you were okay, but I didn't believe it. Are you okay?" Dimitri's soothing voice erased all the tension in my bunched up muscles. I hadn't even realized I had tensed up like that. I melted in relief into the seat.

"Dimitri, you're safe?" I cried into the phone. "What happened to your cell, why are you using Abe's?"

"One of the guardians reached out and grabbed my jacket with my cell in the pocket. To get away I took the jacket off. So now we need to ditch these phones and get new ones. Abe is already taking care of that."

"Abe said they weren't traceable, but what about the call history, I mean on the phone itself?" I was worried about the safety of the people we called.

"I actually deleted my call history last night. So there shouldn't be any record of any calls. That means my family should remain safe." Dimitri soothed my fears for the safety of his family. "Look out your back window."

I turned in my seat to see an identical black limo gaining on us. "Can you come in my limo?" I pleaded.

Suddenly, though I heard no words, our car slowed to the shoulder of the desert road. The door opened and Peter got out and Dimitri took his place.

He wrapped me into his embrace and I lost it. I started crying and I couldn't stop. "Rose, honey I am fine. Shhh. Everything is okay." His voice soothed my soul and his warm arms wrapped me tightly to him. I still couldn't stop crying.

"I almost lost you again." My voice was broken with the force of the emotions running through me. "I can't handle losing you again."

Dimitri just whispered soothing words in Russian and rocked me in his arms for the rest of the trip to the airfield. By the time we arrived I had stopped crying, but I had really bad hiccups. On the tarmac Dimitri and Abe had whispered communication and then Dimitri lifted me out of the car in his arms and carried me on the plane.

"I'm okay now." I hiccupped in protest. "You don't have to carry me. I'm really okay." Dimitri just looked down at me and smiled a loving smile. He carried me onto the plane and right through the seating area to the back bedroom. He laid me on the bed and curled next to me and pulled me into his arms. My face was buried in his chest and his heartbeat soothed me.

"I was scared of losing you too. You don't know how scared I was. I never want to be apart from you again either." I could hear the concern for me in his voice. I felt him lay a gentle kiss on the top of my head. "Abe said we can stay back here until we land if you want."

I didn't answer, I just squeezed tighter. He didn't say anything more. He just held me in his warm embrace where I felt so safe.

There was a gentle knock at the door and then I heard Abe say, "You two have fifteen minutes until we land in Detroit."

Dimitri pulled back and looked at me. I gave him a weak smile. "Do you feel any better?"

"Yes." I lied. I mean I felt better because I was lying in the safety of his arms, but I was still shook up about this morning and almost losing him.

"Liar." He chided. "You are the worst liar I have ever met. I used to let you get away with it back at St. Vladimir's Academy, but not anymore."

"Oh no. What am I going to do?" I teased. "If I have to tell you everything then you're going to think I am neurotic."

"I already think that and love it as one of your endearing qualities." He teased back.

"Fine. I'll admit I will never get used to losing you, the first time, or ever again in the future. It really scares me." I shrugged. "I do feel better though, how could I not? Having spent the last hour wrapped in your arms." I softly ran my fingers down the muscles of his bare arms.

"I don't want to lose you ever again either. I am scared too, Rose." He gently took my hands from his arms and pulled me into an embrace. His lips brushed against my hair as he whispered, "I am glad you feel better, because we need to be ready in a few minutes."

"I want to find an island somewhere so we can spend every day just wrapped together like this." I said dreamily.

Dimitri just chuckled and held me tighter. We stayed like that for a few minutes more. The plane was descending and it was making our ear pressure get all messed up. We pulled back from each other and laughed as we each watched the other try to yawn and pop our ears to relieve the pressure.

"Ugh! Do you have any gum?" I asked after an unsuccessful yawn.

"No. Sorry. Just keep yawning. We will touchdown soon and you'll be fine."

I fell back against the pillows and yawned over and over. Finally, my ears popped and I relaxed and waited for the telltale thump of our wheels touching the blacktop of the runway.

Abe had called two cars to take us to our hotel. He and my mother were going to run some errands and meet us for lunch at our hotel's restaurant. This trip we were all staying in the same hotel. We were instructed not to check in until after lunch.

Tasha, Dimitri, Abe's guardians, and I piled into the stretch limo. Somehow we had managed to hold on to most of our luggage during the chase. Arthur and Peter had loaded their belongings in the car, before coming to escort Dimitri and me down.

Dimitri had lost one of my suitcases, but Peter had held on to the other one, so I had half of my stuff. Arthur, the guardian that had run off with Dimitri, had held on to Dimitri's suitcase. I hoped the lingerie and my toiletry bag were in the suitcase that I still had. I had fun wearing that black lace set and didn't get a chance to even try on the white or red ones.

We arrived at the hotel and left our luggage in the trunk. Our driver was instructed to wait for our call to come back with the luggage.

I couldn't believe the size of this hotel. It was huge and had a casino inside. It was called the MGM Grand.

"I didn't know gambling was legal in Detroit?" I was surprised. I knew about Las Vegas and there was a town in New Jersey, but Detroit?

"Me either. Though I am from Siberia, you know the wasteland, so I have an excuse." Dimitri laughed.

I nudged his arm. "Hey, I admitted I was totally wrong about Siberia, so you can stop teasing me now."

"Never." He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in for a side hug. "It's just too much fun to tease you."

I looked around and was amazed at how big this place was inside. There were signs for several different restaurants, bars, ballrooms and nightclubs. "Uh, did Abe tell any of you the name of the restaurant we were supposed to eat at?"

"Yeah, he told me." Tasha offered. She looked around at all the signs. "I think it's over there." She pointed off to the left. "There are better restaurants, but they only serve dinner. I hope we are staying a few days, because I have always wanted to eat at Wolfgang's restaurant."

"Did he give you a name to leave, so that he can find us when he and Janine arrive?" Dimitri asked quietly of Tasha.

"Yes, we are to let the hostess know that my Uncle Tate was going to join us." She smiled sweetly at Dimitri and me. "This place isn't as big a Moroi hang out as Las Vegas, so we really shouldn't get caught this time."

"Does Abe know how we got caught in Vegas?" I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"Yes." The answer came from Arthur who was following behind us. Peter was walking a few feet ahead. "There was an old retired Moroi passenger that came in to town with the busload of senior citizens yesterday. He must have recognized you two."

"Crud. They came in right when we decided to go down to the sandwich shop for a late lunch yesterday. I thought they were harmless and didn't give them a second thought." I was remembering the full lobby of elderly patrons and the quiet escape of the sandwich shop.

"Well it's a good thing we were leaving anyway. Hopefully we lost them and they don't find anything useful on my cell phone." Dimitri was quiet for a minute and then he took a sharp breath. "Rose, quick give me your cell. I need to call my spy network and tell them I lost my phone and I'll call later with a new contact number."

I dug my cell phone out from my pocket. He excused himself to the side of the lobby to make his call in private. He came back looking relieved. "They hadn't called me back. There isn't any news yet."

We entered the restaurant and asked for a table for seven. Tasha let the hostess know we were expecting company and she let us to a quiet room off the back of the main room that held a large table big enough for our group.

She gave us bread and our menus and asked if we wanted to order drinks. She excused herself to get our beverages and we were left alone for a few minutes. Peter and Arthur got up to perform a perimeter check and find the exits.

I let Tasha know about the new development with the maintenance worker admitting to Mia's dad that Daniella paid him off.

"Do you believe him?" Tasha's eyebrows were raised in disbelief.

"I really don't know. I hope he is telling the truth. I asked Lissa if she would arrange to question him and then I will go along inside her head and see for myself."

Tasha had known about my ability to connect with Lissa for a while. She didn't say anything out loud, but she still seemed taken aback by my statement. I could tell by the tight set in her shoulders and jaw and her slightly furrowed brow.

"So if it's true Daniella is involved somehow. I wonder what her motives are?"

"The only thing that comes to mind is that she asked me not to break Adrian's heart and it was looking like that is exactly what I was going to do." I explained sheepishly.

"Murdering the Queen and framing you just to save her son some heartache?" Tasha asked incredulously.

"I had publicly threatened the Queen several times as well as crash a party or two. In my defense I didn't say that was the only reason, it's just the only thing I could think of up to this point."

"I am sure there is more to it, but blaming Rose killed two birds with one stone." Dimitri added in my defense.

Arthur and Peter re-entered the room and we quietly looked over our menus. The waitress came through with a tray filled with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. We let her know that we were waiting for more people to join us and that we would order together.

I had finally decided what I was going to order when Abe and my mother joined us. Tasha stood upon their entrance and made a show of hugs and 'you look well, I haven't seen you in so long' prior to their finding their seats.

We ordered lunch and while waiting for the food to be prepared Abe shared what his errands had been.

"I got us all new phones and new Identification." He passed us each an envelope with ID cards and a new phone.

I was now Julianna Talbot and Dimitri was Stephen Talbot. I was still over 21 which meant I could order a drink or get into a night club. I flipped open the cell phone and scrolled down the contacts list, Betty Gladstone, Phillip Gladstone and Irene Perry and Peter Jenkins and Arthur Perry. So my parents were going to share a room again as a married couple. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Wait a minute. One of the guardians had the same last name as Tasha? I looked up at Abe.

"What's the background story this time?" I was curious to see how Tasha was going to take this news. I wondered if anyone else had figured this turn of events out yet.

"Okay, you and Dimitri are married, fresh out of college and looking to relocate in the area. Janine and I are here on vacation from Florida, Tasha and Arthur are attending a family reunion and Peter is a business man." Abe announced carefully so that his voice didn't carry outside of our little private dining room.

That didn't tell me what I wanted to know. Was Tasha supposed to be married to Arthur, or were they here as a brother sister pairing to attend this family reunion. I stopped and looked between them. Tasha was beautiful and tall with ebony black silky hair that fell to just below her shoulders. Arthur was blond and several inches shorter than Tasha. They had to be acting as husband and wife, because they looked nothing alike.

Abe caught my eye noticeably amused by my curiosity. He wouldn't give me the answer I was so obviously looking for. He was going to wait until I came out and asked. So I broke down and asked. "So are those two brother and sister?" I pointed to Arthur and Tasha. I noticed that Tasha had blushed subtly when I brought up the subject. Hmmm. What's going on here?

Abe cleared his throat. "I guess the two of them can decide the answer to that question."

I looked from one to the other. Arthur reached for a roll and busied himself buttering it. Tasha was digging around in her purse avoiding my gaze. I looked to Dimitri, who just smiled and shrugged. My mother wasn't any help either.

Abe broke the uncomfortable silence with more news. "I got tickets for us to see the dance company that Emily performs with. I thought that Rose and Dimitri could go backstage at the end of the show and talk with her in private. I think it is a good idea to keep Jill in the dark until Emily confirms our suspicions."

The waitress and a bus boy came in with two trays carrying our meals. They placed them all, double checked that we were all set and then left the room again. The only sound for the next ten minutes was the sound of forks and knives against china.

Dimitri took his new cell phone and excused himself. He must be calling his spy network to give him his new contact number. I wonder if they had found anything about the whereabouts of Victor Dashkov.

Tasha looked after Dimitri as he walked out of the room and then she focused on me. "Do you need to use the ladies room?"

I was startled at her question for a moment. Then I realized she was asking so that the two of us could have a moment alone together. "Yeah, actually I do. Want to go?"

She nodded her head and we both excused ourselves from the table. We stayed quiet until after the bathroom door closed behind us. Tasha turned to me and smiled. "Rose, I know you are worried for me. It is sweet of you to worry, but it is not necessary. Arthur and I are friends and there is a possibility of more, but we are not rushing into anything."

"You are sharing a hotel room, Tasha. That is a pretty forward step." I was truly worried that her decision was spurred by my successful reunion with Dimitri.

"Rose, we only did that to change up the background stories and make us appear different. The Royal Court guardians found us after two days in Vegas. I thought it would have been unfair to ask you or Janine to switch up. Okay?" She looked over at me with a worried expression.

"Thank you." I smiled at her with deep gratitude. I wouldn't have wanted to separate from Dimitri, although this might be a real possibility on this trip at some point.


	13. Chapter 12

12

Our room was not as big and beautiful as the honeymoon suite in Las Vegas, but it was still opulent. It was a single room instead of a suite, but the bed was king size and there was a flat screen TV on the wall. The carpet was done in shades of beige and the walls were brown. The bathroom was all done in marble and there was a TV built into the mirror, or behind the mirror. I don't know how they did it, but it was really cool.

The room was on the concierge level which meant that we could go down the hall for drinks and appetizers. All of our rooms were on this floor, which made it easier to meet 'accidentally' in the executive lounge.

We had planned to meet there around 5:00 which gave us several hours to spend in our rooms. I put my suitcase on the suitcase holder and popped it open. Luckily I had the suitcase that had both my toiletry kit and my lingerie. I was missing my bathing suits and some of my outfits, but I could survive with the clothes in this one suitcase, especially if we could stay in one place long enough to use the hotel dry cleaners.

I grabbed my toiletry kit and brought it into the bathroom. I checked out my reflection in the large mirror. Luckily there weren't any lingering effects from my sobbing episode this morning. I had however cried off all of my eye make-up, so I decided to wash my face and start from scratch.

Dimitri wandered in and put his toiletry kit down on the bathroom counter next to mine. A contented smile slowly appeared as he stood behind me and watched as I re-applied my eyeliner and mascara and added a rosy glow to my cheeks with a little blush.

I put the blush and applicator back into the make-up bag and turned to face him. "What's that smile for Comrade?"

He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face into my hair where it fell around my neck and shoulder. He breathed deeply and sighed. "You are just so beautiful. I was admiring you like a work of art, like the way you would appreciate a Chagall or Munch."

"Dimitri, that is so sweet." I slid my hands from around his waist up his chest and laced my fingers through his silky hair. He looked at me so lovingly. I couldn't stand it. I loved him so much I felt like I was going to burst with happiness. "Hey wait! Chagall and Munch were expressionist painters. That is so not a compliment comrade!"

He started laughing. "You caught that, huh? I think that their art is beautiful. The more you stare at it the more you find to like about it. Their style of painting breaks the mold, just like you. You are one of a kind Rose and I love you for just that reason." He stared seriously into my eyes.

"I love you too. I love you with all my heart, but you still aren't getting away with that comparison…no matter how sappy your explanation was." My hands were still wrapped in his hair and I took the opportunity to completely mess it up. "Take that Picasso!"

He cringed and let go of my waist. "Ah! What are you doing." He was laughing and dodging away from me. He ran out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

"Get back here." I laughingly yelled at him as I chased him into the bedroom. Suddenly I was flying through the air. I landed heavily on the king size bed with Dimitri pinning my arms and legs.

"Get back here or what?" he asked playfully.

I was pinned under him. My only hope to get the upper hand was intellectual prowess not physical ability. I had to get Dimitri to let his guard down.

"Or I will kiss you like this." I lifted my head and our lips met. His lips were so soft and sensual I couldn't resist tracing them with my tongue. Dimitri took a sharp intake of breath and his hands relaxed their hold on my arms. He brought his right hand to the side of my face and stroked my cheek gently. I kissed him again more passionately and I could feel the electricity tingling through my body. I could also feel Dimitri relax his lower body. Now was my chance. Before he knew what was happening I put my hands on his shoulders and rolled us both over and had him pinned. I grinned from ear to ear happy that I bested Dimitri. The shocked look on his face was priceless.

"Oh, is that how I taught you to play this game? Use your sexuality to get you out of difficult situations?"

"Yes." I said sweetly as I leaned down and continued the kiss from moments before. I just couldn't help myself. Kissing Dimitri was worth letting my guard down. Unlike me, Dimitri didn't have an ulterior motive and didn't try to get the upper hand.

We melted into each other just enjoying the sensuous feeling of our lips and tongues entwined in an intricate dance. His fingertips left trails of goose bumps as they softly traced from my shoulders, down my arms to my hands. He laced his fingers with mine and slowly lifted my arms over my head and brought them to rest on the pillows. My lips suddenly felt cold and alone as he moved to my neck and then down to my stomach. I involuntarily shivered from excitement when he lifted my shirt and traced a path from my navel to my bra with his tongue. He continued back down to my navel and I arched into him with the pleasure that it brought me. When he got back to my stomach he brought his lips to my skin and blew a great big raspberry. I shrieked as the tickly wet raspberry resounded on my stomach and Dimitri rolled off me in a fit of laughter.

I was angry for about 10 seconds and then I looked at him with the meanest face I could rally. He just looked so pleased with himself and so truly happy that I could not be mad and his laughter was contagious. Now I was laughing too. He really did get me good.

When he could breathe again Dimitri gasped out, "You should have seen your face... Priceless, Roza. It was priceless."

"All right, you did get me! BUT, I have an excuse for falling for that."

"Yeah, what is that?" Dimitri asked gaining some of his composure back.

"I didn't have any brothers and sisters who chased me around and played jokes on me and blew raspberries on my stomach." I said in my best defense lawyer impression.

Dimitri looked thoughtful for a minute and then he said, "Well you better get used to it, because now you have the entire Bolikov family."

"I love your family Dimitri. You don't even know how happy I am to be a part of it." I said thoughtfully as I moved over and snuggled into his warm body.

He pulled me so close it was if we were the same person. "I do know how happy you are, because it is exactly how happy I am. You are everything to me and it is wonderful that you fit into my family so well." He kissed the top of my head and left his lips resting there he murmured "You are my soul mate Roza."

We just lay there feeling close without saying anything more. I could feel his breathing and his heart beating at my back. Something about this just made me feel so safe and comforted, like nothing could get us when we were protected in this magical place of each others arms.

A cell phone started ringing from the corner of the room. I swear it was the universe's way of telling me just how wrong I was to believe in that fairy tale. Dimitri separated from me so he could identify which phone was ringing. It was coming from his sports coat. He jumped up, and after glancing at the caller ID, promptly answered the call.

"Allo?" He listened for a while then instructed, "Call back when you have any more information, no matter how insignificant you think it is. Understand?" His voice sounded cold and harsh. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He ended the call and turned back toward me. I could see the warmth and love return to his features. It was a little unnerving, but I didn't want him to know I felt that way.

"Rose." He spoke my name with such tenderness. "That was business. If I didn't sound like that then the spies would suspect something, suspect that I am not a Strigoi. I'm sorry if that upset you." He crossed the room in two steps and pulled me into his arms. "I have nothing left of the evil Strigoi inside me except for the memories of all the things I did. These serve as constant reminders for all the things I never ever want to do again in my life. You know what is the biggest thing I want to avoid? Hurting you. I never want to hurt you again."

"Oh God, Dimitri. I know that. I'll admit it freaked me out for a minute, but then I realized who you were talking to and why you needed to sound that cold and detached." I pulled back from him and looked him in the eyes. "I have no doubt that you are my Dimitri. You have no Strigoi left inside of you and you should get rid of those memories too. Feeling responsible for those actions that were out of your control is making you a victim all over again. It isn't fair to you and it isn't fair to me."

"What do you mean it isn't fair to you?"

"Don't I deserve my Dimitri back 100%?" He started to answer my question, but I gave him a look that shut him up. "That was rhetorical, Comrade. I mean if you are holding some other persons memories inside you and using them as a model of how not to live your life then you are starting, or continuing, this relationship with me with a cluttered mess inside you. Shouldn't we start with forgiveness and a clean slate? Don't we deserve that?"

He continued to look at me, but I could see him contemplating my words. He stayed silent a little longer and then he relented. I could see it when the decision registered in his eyes. "You are right. From here on I will try my best to let the bad parts of my recent past go. It won't be easy to do, but you are right about us deserving to start our future together with a clean slate."

"Good! Now let's shake on this deal and move on." He looked at me quizzically and then extended his hand for the shake. I couldn't believe he fell for it. I grabbed his hand with my right and with my left hand I got a hold of his shirt at the back of his neck. I pulled him toward me and used his momentum to flip him onto the bed. I jumped on top of him, and pinning him down, declared myself the winner.

"Admit it. I am good." I beamed.

"I'll admit it. You are good at a lot of things and you can pin me to the bed anytime you want, Rose." He whispered mischievously as he raised his head to continue our kiss.

"Hold up. First I want to know what the phone call was about. Did you find out any new information?"

"Yes actually, But first you have to kiss me, and then I'll tell you."

It wasn't hard to concede to his request. I relaxed my hold on his arms, but left my legs straddling his. I leaned down and placed a soft chaste kiss on his lips. Of course he couldn't let me get away with a quick kiss. He returned my kiss with a fiery kiss that rivaled the ones that were electrifying my body earlier. He pulled back and spoke breathily. "My spies spotted Victor Dashkov in Tennessee."

"Tennessee? What connection does Victor have with Tennessee?" I asked perplexed.

"Not sure. Whatever it is we'll know soon. Now that he has been spotted they won't lose him." He sounded so sure of his spies. I wasn't so sure about them, after all they were only human.

"Should we call Abe and have him alert the Alchemists of his whereabouts?" I started to climb off the bed to get my phone when Dimitri grabbed my wrist.

"Here, I have my phone. Use mine. After all this is a brief interruption and I don't want us to lose the place where we left off." His eyes sparkled with his wicked thoughts.


	14. Chapter 13

13

We had ten minutes to get ready to meet my Dad, Mom and Tasha in the executive lounge. Thank goodness it was only a few doors down from our room. We jumped up and pulled on the same clothes that we had on earlier in the day.

"We have plenty of time to get ready for the show tonight after our meeting right?" I hopefully asked Dimitri as I was pulling on my shirt. He chuckled as he watched me run around our room finding my articles of clothing and my shoes.

"If I understood Abe correctly the show starts at 7:00 and the theatre is only a block away, so that gives us plenty of time to get ready." Dimitri didn't realize it, but his relaxed manner soothed my anxiety.

I hurried into the bathroom to run a brush through my hair and check my make-up. He was waiting for me when I came out of the bathroom. "Rose. Calm down. We are only meeting your parents in the lounge. If we are a few minutes late, they will understand."

"That's what I am afraid of, my father's 'understanding'. I don't think I want to listen to his innuendos for the next 30 minutes."

"Oh, now I understand. In that case let's go now so we can be a few minutes early. You look great, no worries."

"I am pretty sure your opinion doesn't count Comrade. You are a little biased, wouldn't you agree?"

He wrapped his arm around my waist and ushered us to the door to our room. "I am very biased, but it doesn't change the fact that you look beautiful."

We walked into the executive lounge and I was surprised that we beat my mother and father there. Tasha was sitting to the left of the room where a couch and chairs were arranged around a coffee table. A muted flat screen TV hung on the wall showing CNN with the constantly running ticker on the bottom of the screen displaying stock statistics. Dimitri went over to the bar across the room to buy us some drinks, while I stopped at the appetizer buffet set up in the center of the room. I picked a few that I thought Dimitri would like and the old standby, cheese and crackers. I made my way to the couch just as Dimitri joined us.

We made small talk with Tasha awaiting the arrival of my parents. We shared the news of the Victor Dashkov sighting just as Betty and Phillip Gladstone, aka my parents, made their smiling entrance to the room. They looked so happy together walking in the room hand in hand. I couldn't believe this was my mother, Janine Hathaway… seriously, she was beaming. She had this glow to her skin that I had never seen before. I guessed she was pampering herself during this semi-vacation were on, either that or… ew gross! I don't want to think about my parents like that.

I turned away quickly and tried to jump back into the conversation that Tasha and Dimitri had continued in my absence. They were discussing what destination Victor could be headed for. There are very few Moroi/ dhampir academies in the United States and very few established communities that consist of large group of Moroi, dhampir's, and guardians. Baia is one such community, but that is located in Siberia. Most communities seem to exist relatively close to academies. One was in New England, another in California, St. Vlads in Montana and the last in North Carolina. There used to be a community in New Orlean's, but a lot of people never returned after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area and destroyed the academy there.

Some Moroi families chose to live among humans and live on the human schedule as much as possible. Emily Mastrano was one such human. She lived here in Detroit where there wasn't a strong community of Moroi or dhampirs.

As Dimitri and Tasha chatted on I racked my brain for any clues in Victor's past that would clue me in to where he was heading. I thought of Kenneth, the air user, who had tortured Lissa during her kidnapping. I wonder if he was ever punished for that crime?

"Pardon us, but can we join you?" Janine asked as she approached the empty chair with her hands full with a plate of appetizers and a soda. Abe followed behind her playing the part of the obedient husband.

"Yes, please join us. I am Julianna and this is my husband Stephen." I smiled warmly and moved my arm in an invitation to take the empty seats next to us.

"Hi, my name is Irene, my husband is back at our room napping, pleased to meet you."

After we all felt that we had accomplished pleasantries like professional strangers we lowered our voices and started to make plans for this evening.

"I just wanted to let you know I have alerted the Alchemists and they are already following Dashkov's movements. It appears he is continuing his journey south. Anyone have any idea where he is headed?" Abe asked the rest of us.

"I was going to text Lissa later and ask if she knew any relative or friends of Victor's and where they lived. She is still sleeping right now. The only friend that I ever met or remember Victor or Natalie mentioning was Kenneth."

"Don't fret honey. We have plenty on our plates already. Let's let Victor continue on his journey and maybe he will lead us to something bigger than just him." My mother said as soothing as she could. This motherly crooning was definitely something new for her. It reminded me of Olena Bolikov.

"She is right, Rose. If we are patient maybe Victor will lead us to this group of supporters that he alluded to while he was in prison." Dimitri acquiesced.

"Okay, I get the message. Have patience for once in my life. Fine…whatever. Okay so let's move on to discuss the plan for tonight." I urged. Hey they could only expect patience on one front, not both.

"Okay. Our seats are in a private balcony box." Abe explained. "This will give us the best view, the privacy to speak freely with each other during the performance, and the opportunity to meet some of the dancers after the show."

"When are we leaving for the theatre and which of us is attending the show?" Tasha asked.

"The theatre is only a short walk from here and if Dimitri, Rose and Janine go I think you and I should be pretty safe without forcing Peter and Arthur to join us. That is unless you want Arthur to come along, hmm Tasha?" Abe teased her cautiously.

"No, that sounds good. I can always help where I can with my fire defense spells. I really am hoping that we can have an evening out without needing to defend ourselves." She sighed slightly and then stopped herself. She glanced up and caught my eye with an apologetic expression.

"So are we going to meet in the lobby, outside or at the theatre?" I asked right before I popped a shrimp into my mouth. Chewing thoughtfully I waited for Abe to answer.

"We need to stick together if we are walking in a strange city after sunset. We can meet up in the lobby and start out separately going in the same direction and then join together. Meet downstairs at 6:30 and dress nicely, this isn't the opera, but we shouldn't wear jeans either." Abe glared at me when he said that last part.

"Hey old man, I couldn't wear jeans if I wanted to. YOU didn't supply me with any for this trip." I said sarcastically, but with a big smile so that he knew it didn't bother me- -that much.

"It was nice to meet you all, maybe we will bump into each other at the performance tonight. Goodbye." Tasha waved as she made her way into the hall to return to her room.

Dimitri and I exchanged looks. He took control and asked, "So darling, should we be getting ready for the show tonight?"

"Oh, yes. It was nice to meet you. See you soon." We smiled at my parents and walked out arm in arm toward our own room.

I flopped on the bed when we got back to our room. "I just want to rest for a minute before I start getting ready." I closed my eyes and began to relax, being with my parents still made me a little tense. Suddenly I felt the bed moving underneath me and I looked up to find Dimitri had grabbed hold of my ankles and he was pulling me off the bed. "Hey! What's the big idea?" Like I actually thought that would stop him.

"Come on Rose. We only have 45 minutes to get ready. You can relax after the show with me." He leaned down and scooped under my arms and lifted me to my feet. Then to show me how much relaxing we were going to do later he leaned down and gave me a sample kiss. "There will be more of where that came from later, but only for good little wives who get ready for the show on time." He laughed deeply and sensually.

My body suddenly felt like jelly. I lost my balance for a second, but Dimitri easily caught me and righted me back on my feet. "Come on. Let's go take a shower." He led me into the marble bathroom and turned on the hot water. It was already warm and we undressed and climbed in. I resisted the urge to wash Dimitri and made it clear to him that this time I really needed to wash myself.

"If we plan on making in downstairs for 6:30 I think we need to keep this shower strictly a shower." I gave him a look to make sure he knew that I wanted anything but that.

"Anything you desire my lady." He bowed at the waist and when he stood back up he had a big smile on his face.

"Prey tell kind sir. Are you here to protect my honor?" I asked in a horrible British accent.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me under the stream of the shower. A shock went through my body as the deliciously warm water was suddenly running ice cold down my body. I screamed, "Dimitri, let me go. Why are you doing this?"

He let me go and then smiled down at me sweetly. "Hark now. Methinks I was preserving your virtue, fair maiden." Of course it sounded perfect rolling off _his_ tongue.

I reached over and shut off the freezing water. "Congratulations. You sure did." I said grumpily.

"Ah, the lady doth protest too much, methinks." He was out of the shower and holding out a towel to wrap around me. I started to step into his embrace and a feeling of déjà vu swept across my awareness. I stopped in my tracks and instead of getting lost in his embrace I took the towel from him and wrapped it around myself.

"I think I can protect my own virtue just fine, kind sir." I gave Dimitri my back as I walked into the room to inspect my clothing choices.

He wisely gave me a few minutes to realize that he had done the best thing for both of us by dousing me with cold water. As I started holding up outfits for his inspection I forgot that I was trying to be in a bad mood. Dimitri instructed me to wear a knee length dark blue A line skirt and I picked an ivory scoop neck short sleeve silk blouse. I found I had a pair of navy high heels to go with the ensemble. Abe had included some costume jewelry in my suitcase and I took out a strand of faux pearls to complete the look. I dried my hair, but left it down and just ran a brush through it several times until it shone.

Dimitri had on a navy pair of slacks with a white short sleeve crew neck shirt that was mostly hidden by his sports coat. He had tied his hair back in a tight pony tail, which gave the illusion of a short hair cut. He looked good enough to eat.

"I am almost ready. How much time do we have?" I jetted into the bathroom to apply some make up.

"You're doing great. We still have about 15 minutes until we need to head out. Do you need me to do anything for you?"

"Yeah, could you get my stake, my cell phone, and our identification and maybe a clutch from my suitcase to put it all in?"

When I came out of the bathroom Dimitri eyed me appreciatively and gave a low whistle. He didn't say anything as he handed me my clutch and we walked toward the door.

The elevator doors closed behind us and we descended to the lobby to meet the others. Dimitri whispered in my ear, "You look beautiful and I cannot wait for later mi'lady, when I no longer must protect your honor."

Abe and my mom – er I mean- my mom and dad were sitting off to one side of the lobby and Tasha was stalling near the door looking over a directory. Dimitri and I caught my parents' eyes and strode confidently by Tasha and out the door. Tasha followed seconds after and then my parents joined the parade into the cooling Detroit evening. We slowed about one building away and gave everyone the chance to catch up, then proceeded around the block to the theatre.

The usher led us to our private box seat in the balcony area and we all made ourselves comfortable. The show was about to start and I could barely hold in my excitement. I had never seen a professional dance company production. The lights flickered once, twice and then they dimmed. The orchestra started playing the music for the opening number and looking in my program I saw that Emily Mastrano was the lead character.

The curtain went up and I stared open mouthed as dancers gracefully leapt across the stage. One lone character moved slowly from the back of the stage through all the leaping dancers toward the front. This had to be Emily because the biggest spotlight was on her. I looked down to see this woman had blond hair. That definitely wasn't Emily, because she had jet black hair. I consulted the program again, but there was only the character Emily played and the supporting dancers. I started to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Dimitri looked toward me and asked, "Rose, what's wrong?" as he was reaching into his coat for his stake.

I stopped him from going into defense mode. "No, not Strigoi. Dimitri, something's wrong. That isn't Emily. You guys stay here I am going to see if I can find out where she is."

"Oh no, young lady! You are not going alone. Take Dimitri with you." Abe instructed, but Dimitri was already standing and ready to go before he even finished speaking. There was no way I was going to argue with any of the men in my life right now. I was worried for Jill and Emily.

"Fine let's go." I sighed as we made our way out of the box and to the behind the stage area.

We were stopped by a guard before we made it too far. "Can I help you?"

"Yes we came a long way to see an old friend in this company and she doesn't appear to be dancing tonight. Is there any way to find out if she is here tonight?" I asked as politely as possible.

He seemed to like me, because he stepped back a few feet from the barrier and spoke quietly into his radio. He soon was back to ask who were we looking for exactly. I explained and he excused himself again. When he came back the next time he had a somber look on his face.

"Emily was supposed to perform here tonight. She didn't show for work and no one has heard from her since yesterday."

Dimitri and I exchanged worried glances. We hurried off to get the others and explain what was going on. "Thanks for your help." I shouted to the guard as an afterthought while we were walking briskly back to our seats.

"Come on guys we need to go find Emily's apartment. She didn't show for work tonight." I explained as I gathered up coats and led the way out the door. Abe called for a car as we descended the stairs toward the main lobby. By the time we made it out to the front of the theatre our limo had pulled up. We climbed in and gave him the address we had for the Mastrano's.

The apartment building was on the riverfront. the limo stopped in front of the tall building made of brick and we could see the beautiful view of the river and the city beyond. We entered into a small lobby and immediately headed for the elevators. The apartment was on the 7th floor. When we arrived at the door everything looked fine, there was no sign of a break in.

We knocked and waited. As the seconds ticked by my worry for the Mastrano's intensified. When there was no answer after a respectable wait, Abe tried the knob. The door was unlocked to our dismay or relief I couldn't decide which. The inside of the apartment was neat and tidy. It was very modern and uncluttered. There were a number of pictures of Jill and Emily and of Jill alone decorating the expansive living room, and I found the room felt warm and inviting despite the modern furniture with its cool lines.

I wandered off down a short hallway. I passed a moderately sized bathroom and looked into the first bedroom. This was obviously Jill's room because there were posters on the wall, stuffed animals strewn over a bed made with bright colored blankets and pillows. The room was mostly neat, the bed was made, a stack of laundry on a chest was waiting to be put away and a few books were open on the bedside table. Then I noticed that there were scattered papers on the floor in front of her desk. I walked across the room and found that her desk chair was tipped over on the floor and a drinking glass lay broken beside it. From the doorway this mess was hidden on the other side of the bed. This didn't look good.

"Guys did you find anything out of the ordinary?" I yelled pretty loud, because I didn't know where in the apartment the others were. I continued looking around for clues on the desk and in the papers on the floor.

Dimitri came through the door silently and walked up behind me. "What did you find?"

I jumped out of my skin. "Ahh! Don't do that!" I turned and hit him open handed on his chest.

"Sorry." He chuckled.

"Does this look suspicious to you?" I waved my arm to accentuate the tipped chair, broken glass, and the spilled papers.

"No. The way the rest of her room looks tells me that she wouldn't leave this mess by choice."

My mother, father and Tasha all came into the room.

"Did you guys find anything suspicious out there?" I asked of the others.

"Not anything out of place, but Emily's purse and her car keys are on the kitchen counter. What woman leaves without her purse?" Tasha asked bewildered.

"If you were going running, or for a walk in the neighborhood you might, but the purse and this mess makes me think foul play." I gestured to the mess on the floor.

"The security guard at the theatre said that Emily hadn't been seen since yesterday, so whatever happened, it was within the last 24 hours." Dimitri explained to the others.

"I'll contact the Alchemists and let them know of this situation." Abe excused himself to make his phone call.

"I am going to text Lissa to see if they have heard anything new." I took out my phone and started to type my message. I hoped that Jill had been in contact with them recently and told them something…anything. I also hoped that if they had heard from her I could get them to share without too much prodding. I decided I was not going to tell them about Jill or my being in her town, because then I would have a lot of explaining to do.

My mother checked in with the neighbors in the apartments on either side of the Mastrano's. Neither one had seen or heard anything suspicious. Defeated and facing a lot of dead ends we headed back to our hotel.

Back in our room I checked my phone for the hundredth time. Why hadn't Lissa gotten back to me? Dimitri reached over and took away my cell phone and put it on the dresser. "Rose checking it is not going to make her text you back."

I took the phone back from him. "I know that. I am going to text her again, maybe that last one didn't go through correctly and I forgot to add the question about Victor and his connections in the south." I rambled on nervously.

"Why don't you text her one more time and then just pop into her head to make sure she is okay. I know you are not going to be able to think about anyone else… or anything else … until you know Lissa is safe."

I gave him an appreciative look. He really did understand me and my need to protect Lissa. I quickly typed out my message and pressed send. As soon as it was sent I found myself in Lissa's head. It was dark, but Lissa wasn't scared. She wasn't alone either, I could hear someone else breathing. She looked to the left and in the dim light I saw poles on the wall - and Christian standing next to her. Where the heck was she? Christian reached forward and cracked open the door to the room they were in. This let in a little more light and now I could see that they were in a custodian's closet filled with mops, brooms and cleaners.

Lissa moved toward the crack in the door and peered through. From what I could discern they were in a closet in a long hallway with marble floors and lots of doors. I couldn't see anything that gave me a clue what building this was. Although I was very curious what these two were doing I had found that Lissa was alright, so I popped back in my own head.

"Lissa is hiding in a closet with Christian spying. I couldn't figure out any more than that. At least I know why she hasn't texted me back."

"Maybe you should try Mia. You never know, maybe they're stuck in the closet and she could provide the diversion they need to slip out and get away." Dimitri offered wisely.

"You're right. I think that is a great idea." I promptly texted Mia to see if she could tell me what they were up to. I put the phone down, but it immediately alerted me that I had a text. I picked it up to find a response from Mia. "Mia says they are in the middle of something and they'll fill me in later."

I put the phone down again and decided to get ready for bed. I went to wash my face and brush my teeth. Dimitri joined me at the sink. He had taken his shirt off and just had on his dress pants. He reached back and released his hair from his pony tail and brushed through his hair and then brushed his teeth. He took my brush from my toiletry kit and brushed out my hair.

*****Rated M moment here scroll to next bolded line to skip*****

I don't know why, but watching him in the mirror brushing out my hair without his shirt, turned me on. His movements slowed and he let the brush drop down to the counter as he brushed my hair off the side of my neck and his lips caressed my skin. His hands found the waist of my skirt and began un-tucking my shirt. When it was free he lifted it over my head. He was watching me watch him in the mirror which made even the most innocent movements more erotic.

My skin tingled and my knees went weak. His fingers dipped under the edge of my white lace bra and tingles raced over my breast, while his other hand was sliding under the waistband of my skirt. I slowly turned in his arms and pressed my lips against his. My hands found the button to his pants and slid down the zipper. I pushed them down over his tight ass until they slipped to the floor. He kissed me deeper and pressed me against the counter. I could feel him hard and ready beneath his boxers. My bra was freed from my body next and Dimitri nibbled and sucked first one breast then the other. Shocks of pleasure traveled down my body and I moaned softly.

I found the front opening in Dimitri's boxers and stroked and teased. Now it was his turn to moan in pleasure. He gathered up my skirt and hooking his fingers on either side of my lace undies, he eased them down to the floor. His fingers slid between my legs, where I was ready for him. He stroked and caressed my opening before sliding two fingers inside. I gasped with pleasure and kissed him deeply. I sucked his tongue suggestively in and out, nearly driving him wild. He moved his hands to cup under my behind and lifted me to him. My legs wrapped around his waist and he slid in all of his length. He pressed my back to the wall and moved teasingly slow. I used my legs to pull him into me faster, changing his rhythm, making him groan with pleasure and match my new pace.

I could feel a warm tingle building low inside me. I knew I was going to spill over in a few more strokes. "Don't stop, don't stop." I pleaded breathily. That was enough to send him over the edge too and we both released together in wave after wave of ecstasy.

We didn't move right away, simply holding each other and trying to catch our breath. As one he carried me to the bed in the other room. He leaned over and laid me down on the bed and then carefully pulled out of me.

***** Rated M moment over, start reading again *****

"You should probably take your skirt off now."

I looked down and laughed. I hadn't realized I still had it on. "Oops."

"That was so sexy, making love with your skirt pushed up around your waist." Dimitri's voice was low and steamy.

"And that was sexy watching you touch me."

"You're sexy laying here with your skirt still around your waist."

I reached my arms around his neck and pulled him down toward me on the bed. "You know what would be even sexier?"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Finally the door opened and the Moroi filtered out of the conference room and started down the hallway. I stayed quiet in order to hear any tidbits of information they might inadvertently share. Hopefully it would be something that we could use.

I looked toward Dimitri and wondered if he recognized any of the people that had attended the secret meeting. I was shocked to see that it wasn't Dimitri standing next to me in the cleaning closet.

I awoke with a start. I looked around the room, and disoriented, I tried to remember where I was. Relief washed through me when I saw Dimitri sleeping peacefully beside me on the large bed. It was then I remembered I was in the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit.

I struggled to retain the details from the dream that I just had. It was a little foggy, but I think I was in a cleaning closet with Christian. "Oh, my. That wasn't a dream. I was just in Lissa's head." I said out loud to myself.

I decided to go back in Lissa's head and see who was coming out of that room. I hoped I didn't miss too much. I popped back immediately. She was looking through the crack in the door, but it was hard to see full faces through the small opening. Some of these people looked familiar, but I couldn't put names to the faces. I sure hoped Lissa and Christian were getting more out of this spying mission than I was.

I definitely recognized the next person walking down the hallway. It was Daniella Ivashkov. She was walking next to a man who was a few inches taller than her with sandy brown hair. The pair were whispering to each other in hushed tones, but we caught a few words as they passed our hiding spot.

"Victor cannot get away with his plan, he must be stopped. I thought the Queen's assassination would throw a wrench in his plans, but the fool is continuing on like nothing happened."

"Well, if our careful planning pays off then we will stop him." Her companion said.

The conversation trailed off as the pair exited the building. Lissa and Christian waited to make sure they were alone. Unexpectedly the door to the closet was yanked open. Lissa looked up in surprise to find Mia grinning at her.

"The coast is clear. You two can come out of the closet now." She chuckled as she started off down the hallway to the back entrance.

"Where's Eddie?" Lissa asked Mia. "And please tell me he got some good pictures."

"He's coming. And I'm not sure about the pictures yet." Just then Eddie came in from front entrance. He was dressed in all black and held his camera in his right hand.

"Hey guys, I think I shot a picture of everyone who attended this little soirée tonight. Can't say if there good pictures, after all it was dark and I couldn't use a flash."

"Speaking of the dark and flashing- what exactly did you two do to pass the time while you were waiting for the meeting to be over? You look like you had some fun." Mia teased giving Lissa and Christian the once over.

So that is what pulled me into her head. I was really, really relaxed after the fun ending to my day, so Lissa's strong feelings for Christian, while they were 'wasting time' in that closet, were enough to drag me in here with them. I am so glad I slept through that part.

We had continued walking toward the back exit, but instead of going outside we went down a flight of stairs to the basement. The group walked by several doors that all looked remarkably alike. Eddie took out a set of keys and unlocked the third or fourth door, I wasn't really sure.

The room beyond was just as non-descript as the door. It looked like a small break room with a cluttered Formica counter and a long table with plastic chairs, all of which had seen better days.

There waiting inside, sitting at the table, was Adrian. He looked awful. His hair was not artfully or purposefully messy it looked like he hadn't washed it in weeks. He had bags under his eyes and his skin was pale and had a yellow tinge to it.

"Hey, Adrian. Nice to see you out of your room." Christian gave him a friendly greeting.

"Hey" was all Adrian replied, but this one word was able to convey his complete lack of interest in being here.

Lissa, ignoring Adrian, prompted, "Okay Eddie, let's see those pictures." She held her hand out to take the camera from him.

"No way. I get to see them first." He took a seat at the table and turned on the camera. The others grumbled a bit, but then they crowded behind him to take a look at his shots. Well everyone, except Adrian. He stayed where he was on the other end of the room. He didn't even feel the need to feign his interest in being here.

As Eddy scrolled through the pictures Mia, Christian and Lissa yelled out names to identify the participants.

"That's Mark Drozdov right?" Christian asked the group. They nodded and grunted their agreement.

"And that is a guardian. I thought all the attendees were Moroi. Do you know who it is Eddie?" Lissa questioned.

"I think his name is Alec Guy." Eddie offered.

Mia added "Is he here to protect a Moroi or to be part of the meeting?"

"Well, from the look of this picture he is one of them. He is not in the proper position for a guardian." Eddie pointed out to the group.

"Okay go on to the next one." Mia added impatiently.

The next picture was of a middle aged woman. "That is one of the Conta's. I can't remember her first name." Lissa offered.

"I can't either, but it's on the tip of my tongue." Christian admitted.

"I've got nothing" Mia added.

The next one I recognized as Reece Tarus a relative of Daniella's and Adrian's come to think of it. He was one of the Moroi questioning Dimitri a few weeks back.

Adrian didn't even flinch with the announcement of his relative's name. No one seemed to notice.

Eddie advanced to the next photo and the next. There was basically one member of every royal family represented with the pictures. This group had everyone…except for the Dragomir's of course.

The last picture was of Daniella and a man that was a few inches taller than her and a lot younger. I didn't recognize him, but I hoped someone in the room could put a name with that face. Everyone looked around hoping that someone knew the answer. All faces were blank.

Adrian was the only person in the room who might know the answer.

"Uh, Adrian?" Lissa looked cautiously in his direction.

"Yeah." Adrian glanced up and looked at Lissa for the first time since we walked into the room. He initially gave her a look of indignance, but then his face changed showing interest. His eyes sharpened and focused on Lissa, or maybe on the space around Lissa.

"Hi Rose." He said unexpectedly.

Lissa startled and then regained her composure. "Rose is here? Are you sure?"

"Yeah based on the color of your aura, I am 99% sure she is with you right now." Adrian declared.

"Well, good then. I won't have to tell her later about all the stuff we learned today." Lissa reasoned.

"I got a call from her earlier." Mia said, "She had texted you and didn't get a response, so she checked in with me. I assured her you were safe and that you'd call her back later. Sorry Rose, I forgot to relay your message." Mia looked down when she confessed her mistake.

Adrian got up and came around to look at the photo on the camera. "Yeah I know him. He was the older brother of one of my school mates from Alder. He is a Szelsky. Do you remember that fight that Rose helped to break up at the ski lodge? That was his younger brother. This is Beauregard, Bo for short. Actually Lissa, you went to a party at his parent's townhouse with Avery. I can understand if you don't quite remember that night." He said that last part with a teasing yet tormenting edge to it.

Christian looked between the two waiting for an argument to ensue. The look on his face told me that he knew exactly which party Adrian was referring to and he wasn't happy to be reminded of it. The events that transpired that night ruined his and Lissa's perfect relationship and it took three months for them to get back together.

Lissa ignored both Christian and Adrian and looked at the others in the room. "Did any of you hear anything about the meeting?"

Mia, Eddie and Adrian all shook their heads, so she shared what her and Christian had overheard Daniella saying to Bo. Adrian looked at her incredulously.

"Are you sure that is what my mother said?"

Lissa nodded her head. "I'm sorry Adrian."

He walked across the room and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. He said nothing as he quickly opened the door and walked out.

When the door had latched behind him my friends looked at each other and they all mirrored the same facial expression.

"It must be hard to find out that your mother has organized a secret group that may not be working for the greater good." Eddie sympathized.

"Adrian's a smart guy. He will come to terms with this information – one way or another." Christian said from a place of experience. He had to come to terms with his parent's decision at an early age.

"I just feel bad for him. First all the heartache from Rose choosing Dimitri- uh- sorry Rose, now his own mother is not only involved, but the leader of some secret group. A group that is probably not altruistic.

Unfortunately there were a lot of unanswered questions. I had a ton of information to bring back to Dimitri, Tasha and my parents. One thing was perfectly clear, Daniella was not in cahoots with Victor. Daniella and this group are trying to stop Victor, and they may have assassinated the Queen to accomplish their task.

Mia reminded Lissa that they still needed to interview that custodian, the one that accepted a bribe to make me look guiltier. She agreed and Mia offered to do the legwork to set up the meeting. The group decided to call it a night and go their separate ways. Eddie offered to walk Mia home and Christian and Lissa lived in the same building so they walked off in the other direction.

I knew it was time to separate from Lissa, go back to my body in Detroit, and try to get some sleep. When I opened my eyes I was surprised to find Dimitri awake and patiently waiting for me to return.

"Hey, wait till you hear what I learned tonight." I said excitedly.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I have been waiting for you to come back. At first I was worried that something was wrong, but then I realized that you were with Lissa. What did you learn?"

I shared what we overheard Daniella and Bo talking about in the hall and about all the pictures that Eddie took of the participants leaving the building.

"Maybe Eddie can send us those pictures in email. That way the rest of us can help put some names to the unknown faces."

"I'll text Lissa and ask her to do that. We'll have to set up an online email account and give her the address."

"The business office in the executive lounge is open 24 hours. Do you want to go there and set it up now, before you text her?" Dimitri offered helpfully.

"I don't feel like getting out of bed and getting dressed, but you're right. We should do it now, or we will have to wait until tomorrow night to get them. If we do it now maybe Eddie can upload them tonight."

We reluctantly got out of bed, dressed and walked quietly to the computer. We set up a gmail account under the most generic name that we could think up. I texted Lissa with the address and our request for pictures.

I got a response almost immediately. Lissa was excited about the spying mission and the fact that I was there with them. She let me know that she would forward the email to Eddie. I replied back that we would share any new information immediately and asked her to do the same.

She replied back that Christian had gotten a weird text from Jill that just said 'LA' and nothing else. She felt dumb sharing this as it was probably just an error message, but the troubling part is that Christian tried to contact Jill back, to no avail. The message was sent two hours ago and he was just trying to make contact now.

"Dimitri, you need to call your spy network and see if they are still on Victor's trail. If he had reached his destination, shouldn't they have called you by now?"

"Maybe he hasn't stopped yet, Louisiana is a big state. I'll call." He got up to fish his phone out of his pocket. He typed the number from memory and paced while he waited. He spoke rapidly and the phone call ended almost as quickly as it began.

"They are pretty confident he will be stopping soon. They are almost at the coast of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. They can't drive into the ocean." I could see the panic flash across his face as he said that last part. "Oh, no. They could be catching a boat."


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

We returned to our room and snuggled back into bed. I didn't think I could sleep, because I was worried for Jill and Emily's safety. Dimitri's spy network had seen two women matching their description getting out of Victor's car at a gas station in Mississippi. He was now in Louisiana, which matched Jill's text to Christian.

I had chosen to not share the news about Jill's kidnapping with my friends back at the Royal Court. I hated lying to them, well not lying really, just not telling them the truth. There were too many questions that I couldn't answer yet.

Dimitri held me tight, stroked my hair and hummed a lullaby. I didn't think I would, but I drifted off to sleep. I awoke several hours later wrapped in Dimitri's arms. He was still breathing rhythmically and I didn't dare move for fear I would disturb him. I studied his peaceful, sleeping face. God, he was so beautiful it made my heart ache. How did I get so lucky?

Dimitri's breathing hitched and his eyelids fluttered. He smiled when he saw me awake and staring at him. His smile turned to one of concern, "Roza, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking how lucky I am that you love me."

He made a happy sound in his throat and hugged me tight. "You have that backwards. I am the lucky one."

"Yeah, your right." I teased, but he still had me in his tight embrace. My lips were pressed into his neck and my words came out more like 'bleah yo lite'.

He laughed. "What was that Mrs. Talbot?"

I pulled back and looked at him. "I said you are damn lucky to have me Comrade!"

He laughed and started tickling me. "Oh, you think so? Well you are absolutely right! I love you Roza." His nimble fingers expertly found every ticklish spot on my body.

"Stop. Please. Stop." I rasped out between giggles.

He slowly turned his tickling fingers into sensual caressing strokes. "Better?" He whispered as his fingers traced down my back. His lips found mine and stopped any answer I may have given.

I slid my hands into his silky hair and his kiss deepened. I wrapped my leg over his waist and melted into him. He was ready for more and reaching down I guided his way. Everywhere our bodies touched seemed to burn with sensation and heat. Pleasure tingled across my skin as we moved together in an intricate dance of love.

Sweaty and satisfied, we lay in each other's arms. Neither one of us felt the need to say anything. Dimitri pulled the blanket over us, curled up against my back and lazily draped his arm over my waist. He nibbled on my ear sending shivers down my spine and then let his lips rest against my neck.

A cell phone rang eliciting a simultaneous groan from both of us. "Who is calling this early?" I whined.

Dimitri lifted his arm off of me and threw aside the blanket. He grabbed my phone and checking the caller ID flipped it open. "Good morning Abe." He said with a cheerful voice. I watched as his face turned serious. "What is our next move?"

He hung up the phone after signing off with Abe and he turned to me. "So Victor is staying at an out of the way bungalow on the coast. It's a small town south of New Orleans named Grand Isle."

"Thank goodness they didn't charter a boat. Did Abe say what our next move was?"

Dimitri started moving around the room gathering up our belongings. "We need to get ready. The jet is taking off in ninety minutes."

"First things first, we really need a shower."

Dimitri agreed. He stopped packing and followed me in to the bathroom.

Forty minutes later we were making our way to the limo with our baggage. We were off to our fourth state in as many days.

We all piled into one stretch limo to make our way across Detroit to the private airfield. My parents sat holding hands, whispering to each other. Across from them I noticed that Tasha and Arthur were sitting really close to one another, and they seemed very comfortable doing it, the kind of comfort that only comes after two people are intimate with each other.

Abe cleared his throat and interrupted my reverie. "The Alchemists are camped outside the compound where Victor is staying. They have confirmed that it is indeed Jill and Emily Mastrano with him."

We boarded the jet and Dimitri and I worked our way to the back seats. We were the first to board so we were able to watch the interactions between Tasha and Arthur as they stowed their luggage –actually Arthur stowed Tasha's luggage for her- and chose their seats. I whispered to Dimitri to see if he was seeing what I was seeing. "What do you think about those two?" I inclined my head to nod where they were sitting.

He studied them for a minute before he answered. "Who Tasha and Arthur? They look happy."

"That is all? You took a minute to watch them and that is the assessment?" I said incredulously.

"What do you want me to say? I think, by the way they are acting, that they have progressed in their relationship. They are adults, Rose. It really isn't any of our business."

"Come on Dimitri. She is our friend. We need to get her alone and grill her for details. I am so excited for her."

He looked at me and raised one eyebrow. "You are insatiable!"

We talked quietly for the rest of the flight. I summed up my favorite parts of all the places I have visited in the last year or two. I worked backwards and concluded with the windy city, Chicago, where Lissa and I had gone to first when we ran away from the academy sophomore year.

I have never been to Louisiana, but have read a number of books that used it as a setting. I hoped that Victor wouldn't ruin it for me like he had tainted Las Vegas, I mean him and Strigoi Dimitri, but I didn't need to worry about Strigoi Dimitri anymore. Thank God.

I mused about Victor's motives. "What do you think Victor is doing? Is he helping Lissa by protecting Jill, who we aren't even sure is Lissa's sister- or is he going to harm Jill and ruin Lissa's potential chance to get her vote." I rambled on thinking as the words were coming out of my mouth.

"I think this might be more than just giving Lissa a seat on the council. I think he might want her to be the next Queen."

"What? Wh-what are you saying?" I was shocked by his thoughts.

"Really, think about it. What does Victor have to gain by Lissa getting a vote on the council? On the other hand if she became Queen…things would change. Lissa can be very engaging and persuasive. She exhibited that quite a few times now, at the ski lodge and at the Royal Court, most times in front of large audiences."

I thought back to how Lissa has grown since we returned to the academy our senior year. When we were brought back Lissa was timid, still hiding her abilities. Then she came out publicly about her relationship with Christian, her healing abilities, and started speaking out in support of Moroi learning to defend themselves. She also gained a lot of experience advocating for herself with the Queen. Dimitri was right. She would be a compassionate and charismatic leader.

"Oh. My. God. You're right. You are so right." I admitted astonished.

"Hold on I need you to repeat that. I think these cell phones have a voice record feature, and maybe I can set it as my ringtone." Dimitri poked fun at me. "I want to have that as evidence to use against you one day when we are in an argument. I'll play it whenever you think I am wrong and you're right." He started laughing, oblivious that what he said was only funny to him.

I didn't say anything. I just gave him the look of death. Which of course just made him laugh all the harder. I tried to ignore him as the stewardess came by to let us know that we needed to prepare for landing.

My cell vibrated alerting me to a new text message. It was Lissa. She needed me immediately for the interview with the Moroi maintenance worker who had accepted the bribe from Daniella. I explained to Dimitri what was happening and then I popped into Lissa's head.

Lissa was walking and talking with someone. I recognized the voice as belonging to Mia. Lissa looked around as they walked up to the building used for guest housing. I caught sight of Mia walking beside Lissa and way off in the distance Christian was lurking in the shade of a tree. It was daylight after all, which was the middle of the Moroi night. This man must work the night shift.

After they entered the building I noticed the front desk was unstaffed. Mia tapped Lissa's shoulder and pointed as a man in a blue uniform nodded at the two and then walked out of the lobby and down a short hallway. The two quickly followed him into a small office used by the front-desk staff.

When we stopped in the room there were a few chairs in the room and the man offered seating by waving his arm toward two chairs and then took the third. I got a good look at him now. He was the guy I saw in my building. In my defense he was pretty ordinary, now I understood why I couldn't describe him that night.

"I know what you're here for so let's make this quick, before someone sees us together." He said nervously. "Daniella approached me the day before the Queen was killed. She paid me to let her in one of the guest's rooms. I didn't know, and didn't want to know, which guest's room it was. You know for deniability later. I gave her my ring of keys to use when I was on break." He smiled at Lissa.

"I understand." Lissa's voice was so compassionate. I couldn't believe she could hold it together. I wanted to throttle this guy and she didn't even have a hint of anger in her voice. She encouraged the man to continue. "Can you tell us about the next day?"

"Well that boy Adrian, he showed up around 7:00, which is the start of my shift. So I am positive that is the time he got there."

"Then why did you lie?" Mia asked.

"Well, Daniella came back to see me later and threatened me. She said if I didn't lie about what time her son arrived she would tell my boss that I gave her the keys for the guest's rooms and accepted a bribe. I need this job. I have a wife and kids to support. I didn't know at the time I signed that paper that I was condemning an innocent girl to death." His voice was filled with sorrow.

"The important part of this is that you are doing the _right_ thing now. Would you be willing to sign this paper saying that you lied for Daniella?" Lissa handed him a paper that she had gotten out of her pocket.

"Sure, especially since I am afraid for my life. I don't want to die with this lie weighing on my conscience." He admitted guiltily.

After he signed the paper, Lissa and Mia took turns shaking his hand and both thanked him for his help and his time. They snuck out of the building and walked briskly to where Christian waited in the shade.

I felt the planes wheels make contact with the runway and broke my connection with Lissa. As I returned to my own head I focused on Dimitri's face.

"Dimitri! They did it. They got the janitor to confess that Daniella bribed him. He signed a paper too."

He asked a few important questions and I filled him in on the interaction Lissa and Mia had. I couldn't wait to share this news with the others. If nothing else it would provide the council with reasonable doubt and perhaps free me. If only I was that lucky.

We disembarked into the sticky humidity of a Louisiana summer morning. It felt like I was trying to breath underwater there was so much moisture in the air. The car was waiting on the private airstrip next to our plane. The driver opened the door to the cool air conditioned interior. It was a relief to be able to breathe.

"We are heading straight to the Island Paradise Hotel and we're keeping the same identification as the last hotel for two reasons. One, we didn't get caught and two, because I didn't have time to arrange new paperwork." Abe announced to our group as the limo left the airfield.

"I think we should buy some lunch and then go somewhere to eat and plan our next step. The Grand Isle State Park is right down the road." My mother suggested.

I was bursting with my news and could barely stay in my seat. "I have some information that will help clear my name. Do you want me to share now or wait for our lunch in the park?"

The others wouldn't let me wait until later to share the great news. I went over every detail of the interview between Lissa, Mia and the maintenance man. After cheers and words of support everyone quieted down and returned to working out the kinks in our plans to confront Victor.

"How far away from Victor's compound is our hotel?" Dimitri questioned Abe.

"It is actually right down the road. We can walk over there and do some reconnaissance."

As our limo navigated to the area where our hotel was located I was amazed to see so much water around us. When we crossed the bridge that connected the island where we were staying to the mainland I was a little concerned. "Why is Victor staying in a place that is very difficult to escape from? Isn't there only one way on and off this island?"

"Oh no, Rose. There are two ways off, by water and by land. We don't want to scare him into escaping by water. The benefit of staying in a place with only one road in is that one road is easy to monitor." Abe explained.

"So chances are that Victor will probably know that we are here in Grand Isle." Arthur surmised.

"I tried to take precautions to prevent that, but yes you are right."

"We need to act fast then, before he has time to escape." Tasha added.

"I understand that you are all worried for Jill and Emily, but we cannot go running in there without a plan. We will end up doing more harm than good." Abe reprimanded.

The limo slowed and turned into a small white hotel right on the beach. It was definitely not as opulent as the last two hotels we stayed in. In fact I am surprised they had enough space to accommodate all of us the place was so tiny. Abe answered my thoughts as if I had spoken out loud.

"We had to double up this time around. Tasha and Arthur do you mind rooming in a two bedroom suite with Peter? Or Rose and Dimitri? For some reason I don't think you kids want to room with us old folks." Abe looked expectantly around the room for someone to volunteer to room together.

I saw this as my opportunity to observe Tasha and Arthur together in a more intimate setting. "We'll room with Tasha and Arthur. Right Dimitri? We don't mind."

"Great! That solves our first problem. I am sure we will be inundated with plenty more before we solve this mystery." Abe started to open the door to get out and do the check in duties at the hotel. "You should stay in the AC until I get back with our room keys." With that last parting command he stepped out into the sweltering heat.


	17. Chapter 16

Sorry this took so long. I was on vacation. Hope to be writing the next chapter soon. Thanks everyone for the reviews.

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Chapter 16

We carried our luggage into the small bedroom wondering where to put them. The bed dominated most of the available space in the room only leaving enough to eek in a small dresser and a walkway to the door. The only comfortable way to spend any time in the room was by lying down on the bed.

We put down the luggage on top of the small dresser and plopped down on the bed. We didn't have enough time to get busy, but the calm and comfort of Dimitri's arms was just what I needed right now. He wrapped his arms around me and I snuggled my head into his tight pecs and listened to his heart. A sigh escaped and Dimitri's arms tightened in a hug and then released.

As clear as day I heard, "We should call the kids and ask what they want us to order for lunch."

"No way." I whispered to Dimitri as my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

"Apparently these walls are very thin." Dimitri whispered into my ear, his warm breath sending tingles down my spine.

"Well, I think we should warn them, or maybe we should just talk so they come to the same conclusion that we just did." I suggested as the realization of the implication of not only sharing space with Tasha and Arthur, but her parents on the other side of that wall, meant for their sex life.

The phone rang just at that moment and Dimitri reached into his pocket and flipped it open. "Yes Abe?"

"I wanted to know what you two were interested in eating for lunch." I heard through the wall and a small echo on the phone at Dimitri's ear.

"Hold on a moment and I will ask Rose." Dimitri held the phone to his chest to block the chance of his voice carrying through it and looked at me. "Rose, do you have any idea of what you would like to eat for lunch?"

I gave him a funny grin and in a louder than normal voice replied, "Not sure, never been in Louisiana before. What is the specialty here?"

Dimitri put the phone back to his ear and asked, "Do you have any menus that we could take a look at?"

Abe replied through the wall instead of through the phone. "Yeah I have some menus that I got from the front desk I will bring them over."

We walked out into the shared living room area that held the door to outside. The bathroom was off the shared living/kitchen space, so not only were we sharing a room we were sharing a bathroom as well. To think I thought sharing a bathroom was going to be the hardest part of this arrangement. I wish that was our only problem.

There was a knock on the door and we opened it to Abe and Janine. He handed over the stack of menus for us to leaf through. We decided on a restaurant called Sara's that served fresh seafood. We made our choices and called in the order.

The driver stopped and picked up the takeout order from Sara's and continued on to the state park. Our group found a picnic table overlooking the ocean and settled in to eat the food. No one spoke. The only sound was the waves crashing against the shore.

"Well, well. I had the notion you thought that I was important, the way you have been following me for days. You have been in Grand Isle for two hours, yet here you all are choosing sustenance over coming to visit me."

We all stop chewing and looked up into Victor Dashkov's face. Almost as one we jumped up into defensive positions. A ball of flame appeared on Tasha's palm. I noticed my mother had placed herself in front of my father in a stance of protection. Arthur, Peter, Dimitri and I met Victor head on.

"Calm yourselves children. I come in peace. You and I are on the same team." Victor said as he lifted his palms up and away from his body. The gesture was meant to affect a measure of peace over the group.

"Yeah. Right. Like we believe you Victor. Your track record speaks for your trustworthiness." I snapped my words at him like a whip. I wasn't about to believe this guy. He kidnapped my best friend, set Dimitri and me up with a lust charm and then ran away when we broke him out of prison.

"Rose. It is so nice to see you again. Really you are the one I need. We are going to save the Dragomir's together, you and me." Victor nearly purred his words to me.

"You're my guy Victor. When I think of protecting my best friend… a crazy, maniacal megalomaniac is who I would turn to." I wondered if he were drunk, or losing his mind. Ah, hell. Who am I kidding? Of course the guy is totally nuts and now he has the Mastrano's. I looked at him standing there in front of us so coolly, but slowly his face was showing signs of anger and a low growl was rising in his chest. Oh, shoot. Maybe I should cool it and pet the guy's ego, especially if it saves my friends.

"So what did you have in mind Mr. Dashkov?" I lowered myself to asking. I couldn't believe how quickly the rest of my group snapped to attention when I prostrated myself to Victor.

"It was very nice of you to ask, Rose. I need your help to make sure Vasilisa ascends to queen.

"And what's in it for you?" I prodded.

"I promised Vasilisa's father that I would take care of her, that's all." Victor's face was a mask of caring compassion.

A collective gasp sounded from our group. Okay, at least we were on the same page, none of us believed him. I decided pointing this out was probably not to our advantage.

"What do you need from me then, or from us?"

"I would like to invite you to my house for dinner tonight to discuss what help we could be to each other."

"Tell me. Do Emily and Jill know why they are with you?" Abe questioned the kidnapper.

"Emily knows what is going on. Actually she agreed that it was best for the two of them to come along with me." Victor answered.

Of course Emily probably knew of him from Eric's many visits to Las Vegas. Although I am pretty sure that he found out that she had a Dragomir heir about the same time we did, or he would have taken advantage of that information earlier.

"What time is dinner?" Dimitri asked politely.

"I assume you already know the address, so 6:00 sound good to everyone?" He glanced around the group and acknowledged the nodding heads. Then he abruptly turned and strode away.

The rest of us were left dumbstruck. No one moved or said anything. I popped a fried clam in my mouth and chewed while I ruminated about Victor's visit. I guess that is what everyone was doing because all was quiet. We finished our lunch separated into couples and spent an hour walking around the state park. We didn't have to do surveillance so our afternoon was suddenly wide open.

As Dimitri and I walked hand in hand the ocean breeze blew our hair and caressed our faces. We walked silently both lost in thought. What was Victor up to? Is he friend or foe? Finally confused and frustrated I turned to Dimitri and asked for his take on this turn of events.

"Dimitri, do you have any insights on this? Honestly I don't trust Victor and I feel a little lost."

"You have really good instincts Rose. I think I agree with you that Victor should not be trusted. I suppose we need to get back with the group and go put surveillance on the house where Victor is staying." He looked at me eyes that were definitely wise beyond his years.

I stopped walking and looked him square in the eyes. "I agree with you. I have this gut feeling that Victor is not sharing everything. I don't know if his intentions are good, but something just doesn't feel right."

"Let's get back to the car. I will call the others if they aren't there waiting for us." Dimitri declared.

We walked briskly back to the parking area. When we were almost there we could hear talking coming from the direction of the car. As we got closer we could hear the others expressing the same thoughts as Dimitri and I had on our private walk.

"We need to go and watch that compound. I don't trust that man." Tasha expressed vehemently without raising her voice. That was Tasha always polite even in her discontent.

I watched Arthur place his hand on Tasha's shoulder and give it a comforting squeeze. I was not expecting that show of affection and hoped that my face remained neutral and did not betray my surprise. Dimitri stiffened and then released. He glanced my way and we locked eyes. So he had seen the casual reassurance between Arthur and Tasha too.

Abe broke the silence as we walked up to join our group. "I am curious about your opinion. Do you feel a little odd about our encounter with Victor?"

I exhaled in relief that we weren't the only ones feeling discomfited about our run in with the former prince. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"Let's get back to the hotel, change our clothes and grab our gear for surveillance." Abe ordered.

We all loaded back into the car and headed back to get ready. Unfortunately this activity was not on Abe's mind when he purchased our clothing for this trip, so the clothing was not conducive to hiding in bushes at dusk. I picked out the darkest outfit I had and hoped it didn't get completely ruined this afternoon.

We rendezvoused in fifteen minutes in our sitting area. "We are breaking into groups, Dimitri and Rose, Tasha and Arthur, Peter, Janine and Me. We will walk there and scope out the best vantage points for watching the house. I have ear pieces and microphones for all of us." He proceeded to parcel out the equipment.

We quietly watched the house. The roar of the ocean off in the distance was a balm to my nerves. I had never spent much time close to the ocean and I decided I liked it. Montana, Illinois and Pennsylvania were nowhere near the shores and Portland, Oregon was not close enough to visit regularly, especially when one didn't own a car- was in hiding- and trying to protect the life of your best friend.

I felt rather than saw Dimitri next to me, ever alert. There was a sound off in the direction of the house and both Dimitri and I turned to where the sound had emanated from. And waited. A few men strode toward our hiding spot. I froze and held my breath. I could see similar scenes happening with the others.

When the men arrived at Dimitri's and my hiding spot they bowed at the waist and thanked us.

"What are you talking about?" I asked incredulously.

"Well ma'am, Mr. Dashkov said that you were the best of the best and with you out here guarding the house, we could have the night off.

"That little-" Dimitri squeezed my arm before I finished my sentence effectively shutting me up.

"You're welcome gentlemen. Enjoy your evening." He said politely.

They strode off and we started for the open front door of the house. Abe and company were coming toward the front after having left their stations to the left of the house and Tasha and Arthur were coming in from the right. We met in the middle and as one entered the abode.

The house was nice. It had obviously just been rebuilt after the aftermath of the hurricane. The front door opened to a large living room than spanned the width of the house from front to back. The back of the room was a wall of glass and a deck overlooking the ocean. There were two doors on the left wall. Through the first I could see a dining table, set with candles and china for dinner. The door was closed to the other, but the clangs of pots and pans and quiet murmurs led me to the conclusion that it was the kitchen. On the right side of the living room a short hall ended in a set of stairs. Most of the stairway was hidden, except for a few of the bottom steps and a railing.

"Welcome, welcome everyone. As you can see I was expecting you early. So please sit and enjoy the appetizers I had prepared. Can I interest anyone in a drink?" Victor was thoroughly pleased with himself. He had a grin from ear to ear and his eyes were twinkling.

I just couldn't break my agitation in spite of his hospitality. "No thank you Victor. I would like to see Jill now." I demanded icily.

"Rose dear, she is getting ready for our evening together. If you would just sit and enjoy the food and partake in a beverage I am sure she will be along shortly." Victor's smooth voice purred out.

Thank god the man wasn't a spirit user. If he was he could conquer the world with his devious mind, conniving ways and the spirits power of persuasion and use of compulsion. Seriously he made me want to hurl. "Just can the seductive voice Vic and call Jill out. Now!" I seethed. I knew he was getting to me. Heck, everyone knew that he was getting to me, but I didn't care. I have had one hell of a week and Victor was just enjoying pushing my buttons.

"As you wish Rosemarie." Victor gallantly strode to the stairs and sweetly called up to Jill. "Ms. Mastrano, Jill honey, can you please come down to entertain our guests."

"Coming." I heard Jill call from upstairs. My heart thudded loudly. I was worried for the Mastrano's and couldn't wait for their appearance to make sure they were okay.

The footfalls on the stairs were a joyous sound to my ears. As Jill and Emily reached the bottom I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. They walked toward our group with smiles on their faces. Jill came right over and gave me a big hug.

"Wow, fancy meeting you here. When Victor said you were coming over for dinner I have to admit I was surprised." Jill said in my ear. When she stepped back I saw that she had a big smile on her face, which didn't match the rest of her concerned features. "I heard about the whole murder charge and jailbreak and figured you were laying low. That's why I couldn't believe you were coming here."

"Yeah well, things came up…anyway it is so nice to see you." I hoped she fell for the abrupt conversation change. "So are you enjoying your summer vacation?"

"I am, but I miss everyone so much. I forgot to bring my phone charger with me, so I can't even text to let them know where I am." She looked really bummed by that.

"Well maybe later tonight we can call them with my phone and talk. Okay?" Boy did we have a lot of things to discuss before we made that phone call. I hoped that Emily had at least broached the hard subject of paternity, but I feared that she did not. My suspicions were confirmed when Emily interrupted our private catch up session.

"Ladies, please come over here and join us on the couch." Emily looked a little nervous about the upcoming conversation.

"Can I get anyone a drink, or if you would like to help yourself there is a bar with a mini fridge right over there." He pointed at the wall between the kitchen and dining room doors. "There is a variety of juice, soda, and water as well as alcohol to choose from."

Everyone milled around getting drinks and appetizers and then gathered around the large coffee table in the center of the room. The room had plenty of seating for all of us and we settled in with our booty awaiting the difficult topic to be broached. I don't think anyone wanted the responsibility of opening the conversation because suddenly all chatter stopped and we were faced with an uncomfortable silence.

Abe cleared his throat and Emily looked at him pleadingly. He shifted in his seat and didn't make a move to speak instead he filled his mouth with a canapé.

Emily nodded her thanks and took a deep breath. "I was telling Jill about her father earlier today. She understands that her half sister is not aware of this situation at all and will keep everything we tell her tonight quiet until her sister is told." Jill was sitting next to me and across from Emily. She nodded her agreement.

"Is someone going to tell me who my father is, please?" Jill pleaded to each of us as she met our eyes one by one.

I grasped her hand. "I would like to tell you if that is okay with Emily?"

As Emily nodded I turned my body so that I was facing Jill on the couch. "Your half sister is my best friend Lissa Dragomir."

Jill gasped a breath. I couldn't tell if the news of her new blood relative made her happy or not. She frankly just looked confused.

Jill knew Lissa and actually the two had been in a disagreement last spring when Jill told Christian about Lissa cheating on him by kissing Aaron when she was drunk at a party. Lissa hadn't been honest about the kiss and Jill telling Christian broke them up. Luckily even though Christian and Lissa hadn't made up until last week Jill and Lissa had made up prior to graduation and summer break.

Everyone was quiet for a long time. Finally Jill spoke up, "So why am I hiding in Louisiana instead of coming out to the Royal Court so that Lissa gets her seat on the council?"

Victor perked up at this question. "Unfortunately there is a group trying to stop that very thing from happening, so right now the best place for you is in hiding."

"I don't understand why Daniella is trying to stop this from happening. What does she gain from stopping this?" I still couldn't put the pieces of that mystery together and hoped that Victor had the answers I was looking for.

"I think I can answer most of your questions, but I just got word that dinner is ready. So we will postpone this discussion until after dinner." Victor rose and the rest of us followed him into the elegantly staged dining room.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

As you can imagine, we were all stuffed from the gourmet meal Victor provided for us. We moved out onto the gorgeous deck overlooking the ocean for our after dinner discussion. The furniture was wicker and had plush cushions. It was actually more comfortable than it looked. The deck was large and there were enough wicker couches and chairs for all of us to sit and chat. Jill had taken a seat next to me on a wicker couch and Dimitri joined us by sitting on my other side.

For several tense moments no one spoke. The sound of the waves crashing into the shore occupied the dead space that was left by our trepidation. Finally Victor asked, "Can I get any of you an after dinner cordial, or perhaps coffee or tea?"

Suddenly one of the chefs that had prepared our meal appeared with a tray of drinks as if Victor had poofed him into existence with his question. I took what looked like a Mojito and sat back to enjoy my cocktail.

Jill held her glass up to mine and said, "To us being together like this unexpectedly, strangely I trust you all with my life." Then she clinked her glass to mine and took a drink.

I took a drink and as I did I heard some of the others saying 'here, here' and 'I'll drink to that'. I have got to hand it to the girl she broke the tension like a good thunderstorm cools a heat wave.

"So what is the problem with Daniella Ivashkov and why does she want to hurt the Dragomirs" I asked Victor.

"That is a very complicated story, but the only way you would understand is if I start from the beginning." Victor sat back in his chair and put his feet up on the ottoman. He took a deep breath and his stare became unfocused like he was now looking inside his head for the story.

"A long, long time ago after graduating from the academy and before Eric and I were married we lived at the Royal Court. When we were there we met a young beautiful lady named Daniella Taurus. Both Eric and I had a crush on her and being best friends we decided to both woo her and let her make the decision which one of us she wanted." He paused in his story and took a sip of his wine. His eyes stayed unfocused on the present and on his face he had a happy smirk that remembering the past had given him.

"Daniella fell for both of us and to help her decide which man to choose she went to have her fortune told with Tarot cards. I am unclear what the cards revealed, but soon after she chose me over Eric. The strange part about it was she absolutely refused to go near Eric again and avoided him at all costs. This was very hard for me being in love with Daniella and her shunning my best friend. Soon our fairytale romance began to crumble under the weight of our disagreement about Eric's place in each of our lives." Victor stopped talking and shifting in his seat took a gulp of his wine.

"It ended almost as soon as it had begun with us and shortly thereafter Daniella met and married Lord Ivashkov. The surprising part was less than nine months later she had Adrian. She has never admitted that he is mine, but the boy is practically shunned by Nathan and the two have nothing in common. Not to mention she was never able to have other children with Nathan."

Victor was quiet for a moment to catch his breath and not one of us dared to speak. Victor was obviously in a different time and place than the rest of us were at that moment. He was being carried by the emotions of events that took place over 20 years ago, but they were affecting him like it was yesterday. I studied him carefully as he took a deep breath to continue his story. I swear I could see a tear glinting in the glow of the moonlight.

"Shortly after Daniella and I broke things off, I moved away from the Royal Court and took a wife. Eric and I were business partners, so we bought houses near each other and soon he found himself a wife. Things were great for years. We vacationed together, went on business trips and our kids were attending the same academy. Then my wife died and Eric's family and Natalie were all I had left aside from my half brother Robert."

He stopped for a minute and looked out toward the ocean focusing for a minute on a distant ship so far out on the ocean that it was a mere blip on the horizon, but I'm sure with his excellent vision he could see it clearly.

"Eric knew about my suspicion that Adrian was my son and I think he confronted Daniella. It was shortly after that the accident occurred, nearly killing the whole Dragomir line."

"Hold up, Vic my man. Are you saying that Daniella had something to do with that accident that killed Lissa's family and left me shadow kissed?" I blurted out unable to contain my disbelief. "What for?"

"Like I said …I think Eric may have confronted Daniella about Adrian and I suspect she may have been willing to kill to keep that information a secret."

"So you don't know anything for certain?" Abe inquired of Victor in a quiet respectful voice.

"No, but believe me I have gone over this a hundred times in my head and I think the accident was a set up. Eric was an excellent driver and he had driven those roads a million times in the last ten years. There is no way he would have driven off the road and into that tree. There were no other cars, and it was winter, but the roads were treated and clear." It was then I noticed Victor wringing his hands together in an unconscious show of how upset he really was.

Dimitri cleared his throat and leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees. "If I you are right and it was about Daniella protecting her secret. Then all her problems really should have stopped with Eric's death

"I suspect that Daniella had learned something during that Tarot reading long ago that she was determined to stop from happening. I think that is what is making her continue to actively seek and destroy any chance of another Dragomir heir coming forward."

"Could Eric have left something behind that implicates Daniella? Something that she is trying to find to destroy to save herself…you know what I mean right?" Jill gave a nervous laugh. "Like if he left something in a safe deposit box and Daniella thinks that we might get it."

I had to save Jill from her nerves at this point. "I get what you're saying. Anything is possible, but then again Victor is the executer of the estate and he would know of anything that is there, right Victor?"

"Not if it was given to Emily, Jill, or Vasilissa years ago." He replied.

Emily's anger flared in the blink of an eye and she exploded at Victor. "What are you saying Victor? That Eric gave me something and I have been sitting on it throughout this whole journey down here. That I have risked the lives of all the people in this room and the one life that matters most in this world, my daughter."

"No. Emily, listen. That isn't what I meant. I meant that perhaps the message was hidden in something else he gave you. Perhaps some contracts or papers that he had you hold on to or in the pages of an old book, or in a false bottom of a trunk or jewelry box. I never meant to accuse you of subterfuge. Forgive me." Victor actually looked meek when he said that last part, almost begging Emily for forgiveness. Well…wonders never cease….

"The only thing that Eric gave me was a check deposited into a bank account each month. We got a lump sum when he died. Nothing else. He used to visit me when Jill was little, but after I moved to Detroit, the visits pretty much stopped." Emily said a little bitterly.

Jill gasped a little breath in and all eyes turned to see a ghostly pale slide over her face. "Mom, I never told you this, but I got a birthday present one year. It was sent to me at school, but there was no return address or card with it. I had already gotten a present from you, but I assumed that you had just forgotten that present and sent it separately."

"What was it?" I asked as I turned toward her on the couch and grabbed her hands.

"An old leather diary. It was blank and brand new inside, but the outside looked like it was an antique. It is chunky and leather with a big gold latch on top with a key to lock it." She looked right into my eyes and I could see the excitement building in her own.

"Where is it now?" Dimitri prodded.

"I don't know exactly. It could be in the boxes that I really haven't unpacked from school, or under my mattress, in my nightstand, top shelf of my closet-"

"So you still own it, but it is somewhere in your room in Detroit. You didn't happen to pack it for this vacation?" Abe stupidly asked.

I know there aren't supposed to be stupid questions, but come on that one was a big DUH! Of course if she had packed it she would have jumped up and gotten it by now.

"Is there anyone you trust in Detroit that will go into your room, get the diary and mail it to us?" I asked hopefully.

"No Rose. That isn't a good idea. We could be putting some innocent in danger if Daniella sends anyone to the apartment looking for Jill." Janine wisely stated.

"Oh, right. I didn't think of that Mom. Your right. Could we send some of our group to retrieve it and bring it here?"

"Abe, are you willing to let any of your guardians go?" Victor challenged my father.

"Absolutely! Are you Victor?" Abe retorted with a challenge of his own.

"Then it is settled. One of Abe's guards and one of mine will leave immediately for Detroit to fetch that diary." Victor took out his cell and immediately speed dialed one of the guards we had met earlier. He walked into the house and spoke with him privately.

Peter went back to the hotel to pack up a bag for the journey and he returned about the time Victor's guard arrived home from his night out. The guard grabbed a few things from his room and the two were given instructions and the use of Abe's jet to go to Detroit and back on their mission.

God I hoped this worked. There were so many people involved in this plot and so many lives at stake. Just think I was living a relatively normal life just a few years ago. No seeing ghosts, partying with my friends, and a future of being a guardian for my best friend. Now I am solving mysteries, discovering the identity of my best friend's illegitimate sister and possibly the reason behind her parents' senseless deaths. All of this was a little overwhelming.

Dimitri reached over and took my hand wrapping between both of his own. "Rose, are you feeling okay? Would you like to go for a walk down to the ocean with me?"

Actually a break from all of this for five minutes is exactly what I needed. "Yeah actually that sounds wonderful. I would love to take a walk with you." We got up off the couch and worked our way across the deck and down the stairs toward the roar of the ocean. This house had a large yard and its own private beach. It was almost beautiful enough to forget all your troubles and just enjoy nature.

"I wish we could just throw all our problems into those crashing waves and have them obliterated into nonexistence." I signed wistfully. Wouldn't it be nice?

"Rose, that might feel good, but ignoring the problems only make them grow bigger. The only way to make them fade away and disappear is to solve them." He stopped and wrapped me into his warm strong chest.

"I know." Snuggling into his chest his heat melted the tension out of my muscles. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him so close that our bodies were fused together with nothing but the thin material of our clothing between us.

"I love you." I felt his lips touch softly upon the top of my head and I shivered. He moved his arms from around my back and rubbed up and down my arms. "Are you cold?"

"No. Just the opposite." I was surprised at how husky and low my voice had become. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. When he did I could see the desire burning there that must have matched my own.

"Want to go find a secluded slice of the beach with me?" He was already tugging me toward an outcropping of large boulders that were on the beach. Surely he didn't mean that we were going to do the horizontal hokey pokey out here?

When we got to the spot we both looked back toward the house and the deck and I decided if we couldn't see them, then they probably couldn't see us. The sand was pretty dry in this spot because it was still low tide. Dimitri smoothly took off his shirt and laid it out on the ground. He didn't waste any time gathering me into his arms and kissing me deeply and passionately. Any doubts I had about what Dimitri was planning, or heck whether I cared that I was out in public, went flying out of my head and were replaced with a burning desire. The fact that we were doing this where people might catch us made doing this even more thrilling. Things heated up pretty quickly and we ended up mostly naked on a pile of our discarded clothing, sweaty and panting.

"Well that solves the problem of the thin hotel walls." I was breathless and happy laying on my back mostly on top of Dimitri's chest and staring up at the most gorgeous sky full of stars. It rivaled the sky at the ski resort last year, but then I hadn't been with Dimitri so this sky had to be better, if only for that reason.

"We should be getting back." He whispered into my hair. If he had been any quieter the wave would have drown out his voice.

"I don't want to go either."

"Yes, but duty calls my beautiful and talented guardian wife. So we must return to find out the rest of the plan."

I grunted and started to dig around for my clothing and shoes. After we had each found all of our articles we dressed and headed back to join the others. When I put my arm around Dimitri I felt sand all over him and starting laughing.

"What has you so tickled?" Dimitri purred to me.

"We really need to stop and brush all the sand off of ourselves. We are covered. I think I even have sand in my underwear."

He laughed and we brushed each other's clothes off. Unfortunately I had to just deal with the sand inside my clothes, because it was pretty much plastered there with sweat and let's just say 'other things'. I was so taking a shower when we got back to our hotel.

We were getting closer to the house with every step. I could see the faint outlines of our host and friends sitting on the deck in the dim candlelight. I reached out and pulled Dimitri to a halt. "Do you think that Adrian is really Victor's son?"

"That was definitely not something that was on my radar, but I guess it could be true. Adrian doesn't really look or act anything like Nathan, but then again he really doesn't look or act like Victor either."

"You're right about the physical resemblance, but I actually have never really compared them either. As far as acting alike, why would they? Victor had never been a part of Adrian's life like Nathan had." I turned and looked him square in the face. "You had interactions with your father and you said yourself that you are nothing like him."

"So very true. Okay so unless they have some bloodtest, medical documents or papers signed by Daniella admitting that Adrian is Victors then I guess Daniella doesn't have much to worry about."

"I really hope the diary has something important hidden inside, something that helps us solve this mystery and clear my name."

Dimitri put his hands on either side of my face and drew me to him for a chaste kiss. Then he pulled me into a tight embrace. He squeezed me in his protective arms. "I hope so too, Roza. I hope so too"


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Hey you two come on back and join us." Jill yelled from the deck.

I pulled back from Dimitri and looked toward the deck where Jill leaned over the railing. I chuckled, "We're coming, Jill."

Dimitri entwined his fingers in mine and matched my pace back to the deck. We climbed the stairs side by side and I winced as we came into the brighter light. I saw that our original seats were still free and walked over and plopped down on the wicker couch. Dimitri took his place at my side and Jill joined us to complete our original seating configuration.

"While you were gone we decided that we were going to call it a night and head back to the hotel. We learned a lot of information tonight, most of which is conjecture. Our hands are pretty much tied at this point until we get some proof." Abe looked apologetically toward Victor and then Jill and Emily.

"Maybe a good night sleep will give us all time to process and come up with a fool proof plan. How about we meet as soon as the guys get back from Detroit in the morning?" Tasha looked around the room to collect our nods of agreement.

Victor rose from his chair first and started the goodnight process. "Let me give you my phone number so that you can contact me in the morning."

We exchanged numbers with Victor and said goodnight to Jill and Emily. We left two by two out the front door and walked in silence most of the way back to our hotel. I noticed that in front of me my mom and dad were holding hands. Then I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Tasha and Arthur were also walking hand in hand. I reached down and grasped Dimitri's hand and he looked down at me and smiled.

"Abe, will you keep us in the loop when you hear from Peter?" I asked.

"I will let you know immediately." He responded. "I want you all to relax tonight and not worry too much about the stuff Victor told us tonight. Everyone understand?"

A collective cacophony of agreement arose from the group and then we were all silent again. Even though I had just told Abe I wouldn't think about it. I started going over all the stories Victor shared tonight. I got the feeling that the others were doing the same thing that I was.

My suspicions were confirmed when Dimitri asked, "Do you think Rhonda was the one doing Tarot readings 23 years ago?"

Abe sighed and muttered under his breath. I wasn't sure, but I thought he said something about us being relentless.

"Maybe I could have Lissa go and ask her. I doubt she would remember it even she was the one doing them. How many readings do you think she does every week, every year even?" I mused.

"You're right. That was a long time ago. I doubt she'd remember one reading out of the thousands done over the years." Tasha added in thoughtfully.

I had a feeling that Abe would have told us to stop again if we hadn't arrived back at our rooms. We exchanged pleasantries with my mom and dad and went into our suite. Tasha and Peter waved goodnight and disappeared into their room to the right of the living room. I went into the room that Dimitri and I shared to grab my toiletry kit and use the bathroom.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Dimitri was following behind me with his toiletry kit.

I stopped and smiled. "Do you really have to ask?" I grabbed his free hand and dragged him into the tiny bathroom and we crowded in front of the one sink and small rectangle mirror above it. We brushed our teeth and hair bumping each other with almost every movement. It was so frustrating it was comical.

"I really want to take a shower and get some of the sand off of me. Are you going to join me?" I looked at him suggestively.

"Sure, but you do know it is just going to be a shower." Dimitri whispered.

I must have looked totally disappointed because he leaned his face toward mine and brushed his soft lips against my cheek. "I promise I will make it up to you." His breath in my ear sent shivers down my spine.

I smiled and turned the shower to hot. We only had to wait a minute for the water to heat up which was completely surprising. To my dismay the shower was just a nice shower. Dimitri offered to wash my back and then I returned the favor. That was as sensuous as it got. Though always the gentleman he got out first and held a towel for me to wrap into and into his arms.

The heat of the shower combined with that drink I had at Victor's relaxed me and I felt a little sleepy. Back in our room we snuggled in and fell asleep almost immediately. Soon I found myself lounging on a sofa in what looked like a hotel room.

"Hey what's going on?" I asked a little disoriented. I looked around and saw some familiar photos of Lissa and Christian and me and Lissa on vacation with her family. It was then I realized I was in Lissa's room back at the Royal Court Moroi housing. "Liss, where are you?"

She came up from behind me and walked over to her bed and plopped down. "Right here. Rose I know we talked yesterday, but I miss you anyway. I like dream walking because I can see you and touch you. It's almost like you are really with me."

"I miss you too. I know it's only been a week, but it feels like I have been away from you for a year." I jumped off the couch and reached Lissa in two strides. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed.

She returned the hug and then in a raspy voice wheezed out, "not so hard Rose."

"Sorry, I have been used to hugging Dimitri and he's a lot stronger than you."

"So have you learned anything that may help you prove your innocence?"

"Umm. Not really. We are following up on the lead that you guys found about Daniella and her secret group. We are kind of stalled right now."

"Okay…now tell me what you are hiding. I mean it Rose."

"I…Liss, um…okay well it's just that we bumped into Victor in our travels."

"Be careful. He is probably the leader of Daniella's group. We don't know if they are operating under his orders." Lissa's face was twisted with concern.

"I don't trust him. Especially after his track record these last two years. I think you know that I am smart enough to realize that." I made my face a mask of calm determination. It must have worked because she just nodded.

After a minute she gathered herself for the next question. "So when are you guys coming home?"

"Liss I can't come back until we find out exactly who killed the queen. I need hard evidence. Something the judge and council can see for themselves."

"Is there anything more we can do to help?"

"Yeah I want you to keep your ears open and watch out for one another." I thought for a minute. "How is Adrian? Have you talked with him since your spy mission?"

"No. I tried to call him, but he didn't answer. I plan to go over there tonight and force my way in."

"Use compulsion on him and he can't refuse you."

"Rose you know compulsion doesn't work on Adrian." She admonished me.

"So besides that is there anything I can help you with?"

I almost asked her to go interview Rhonda about that reading for Daniella, but then I was afraid of the answers Lissa would get. What if that reading spilled the beans about her sister, or her family's death? "Well actually there is. Can you find out if Rhonda was doing Tarot card readings 23 years ago? Maybe you could just ask Ambrose."

"Why would you need to know that? How will that help solve the queen's murder?" She looked so perplexed it made me smile.

"Trust me it is a long, long story. I will fill you in later. Text me when you find out the answer." I hugged her one more time and then forced myself to wake up from the dream. I really didn't want to go, but I was too afraid of her questions. I really didn't want to lie to her, but I wasn't sure how to tell her she had a sister and that we were now working with Victor.

I awoke in the small hotel room in Grand Isle. Dimitri was still asleep cuddled up next to me. I could wait until morning to tell him about talking with Lissa. After all it was more a visit than finding out any new information.

My only hope was that Lissa stuck to only finding out if Rhonda was at the court back when Victor and Daniella were dating and not go ahead and interview her. Knowing Lissa she would keep on the assignment until she had found out everything. What have I done? My stomach twisted with fear that Lissa was going to find out something that she shouldn't.

I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind starting creating all kinds of nightmare situations that could come from Lissa talking with Rhonda. I was far too anxious. I thought of trying to get out of bed and taking a walk, but Dimitri was snuggled up close and I was afraid of waking him. So I lay as still as I could and tried to relax while my mind did the walking.

"Rose what's wrong?" Dimitri's whisper made me jump nearly out of my skin.

"You scared me. I thought you were sleeping." I whispered back.

"I'm sorry I scared you. Now tell me what's wrong."

"Lissa just dream walked in my dream and I asked her to find out if Rhonda was working at the Royal Court 23 years ago. You know Lissa though, she won't stop there, and I'm afraid what else she may find out."

"She will find out sooner or later and you are not going to be able to protect her from this. She is going to gain a sister, but at the same time find out that her father was not the man she thought he was."

"I know. I was just hoping that maybe if she found out from me she could handle the news better. That sounds crazy, I know, but the two of us have been best friends for fourteen years and bond mates for four. Until recently I was always the one protecting her."

"Recently she has shown that she is capable of protecting herself. You know that this is true. She can handle a lot more than you give her credit for."

"I know you're right. It's just…it's just that I love her and I don't want her to hurt. No matter what this will hurt…so I feel like if I keep this away as long as possible I am protecting her." I sighed. Dimitri started to say something but I interrupted. "I know that is irrational thinking, but it's just how I feel."

"I love how much you care for Lissa and try to always do what you think is best for her." With that he put his arm around my back and hugged me close again. His hand was rubbing soothing circles around my back and head. "Try to relax and get some sleep." He started humming my lullaby. I didn't think I was ever going to fall asleep, but Dimitri sure knew how to send me back to dreamland.

The sun streamed in through the gauzy curtains covering the window and right into my eyes. The room was awash in the bright light and there was no way I could fall back to sleep. It was then I took a look around the small space and realized Dimitri wasn't here. I jumped up and padded out into the shared living room surprised to see everyone except Peter already gathered there.

"Morning sleepyhead." My mother practically sang out. I hated people who were cheery in the morning. I mean I could get up early I just didn't have to be happy about it.

"Morning." I grumbled. "What time is it?"

"It's only a little after 7. We actually just got here." Abe reported obviously trying to sooth my grumpy attitude.

I noticed that there was coffee and pastries on the counter and went over to dig in. After I made my coffee and grabbed a croissant I moved to perch on the arm of the chair that Dimitri was sitting on. He put his arm around my back and gave me a look that let me know that his lap was available if I preferred that to the arm of the chair.

I was told that Peter was expected any second and that we were headed over to Victor's to examine the diary with Jill. I shared that I was expecting a text from Lissa and then remembered that she had probably already sent it. I excused myself to go collect my phone and check for new messages.

When I was alone in the bedroom I dug around to find my phone in yesterday's dirty laundry. I had it on vibrate, so if she had texted it wouldn't have woken us up in the middle of the night. When my fingers had found purchase around the cool plastic of my phone I opened it to find that there indeed was a message from Lissa.

I went back to the living room. "Lissa said that Rhonda had just started doing Tarot cards at the Royal Court about 24 years ago. To her knowledge there was never anyone else who did readings before her."

"So she is our gal, whether she can tell us anything from that long ago remains to be seen." Abe stood up then and excused himself. "Janine and I will let you get ready to go meet with Victor. Let's say 30 minutes outside." He extended a hand to help my mother out of her chair and they walked arm in arm to the door.

I took my mother's vacated seat and proceeded to eat my croissant and coffee. Tasha and Arthur asked if they could use the bathroom first and Dimitri and I nodded that it was okay. After all we had showered right before bed last night. Oh God, I wonder how bad my hair looked this morning and why nobody made some rude comment about it.

I still had my phone in my hands and I opened it again. I thought I had seen another message from Lissa and I wanted to see if it was about Adrian. Sure enough there was another text. I opened it and read Lissa's report that she couldn't find Adrian last night. What is going on? There was nothing I could do about it now. Everyone at the Royal Court was asleep. I slammed my phone closed in frustration.

Dimitri must have seen the worry I was feeling for Adrian. "What has happened Rose?"

"It's more like what didn't happen. Lissa went to check on Adrian last night because he wasn't answering his phone and his didn't answer his door either. I really hope he is okay."

"He is probably just processing what he learned about his mother being the leader of a secret meeting. Did he even know that Lissa and Mia got proof that his mother lied?"

"No, nobody has talked to him since the spying mission and the interview with the Janitor was after that."

"If he is having this hard of a time dealing with the mysterious group that his mother is the leading, can you imagine his reaction to Victor being his father or the real truth about his mother and the janitor?"

"I think we need to get him some professional help." My tone conveyed the defeat that I felt. How was I going to help Adrian face all these new obstacles, especially considering I was one of the causes of his current state of mind?

"Agreed." Dimitri looked at me his face awash in sadness.

The bathroom door opened and a wave of steamy air came out. Tasha and Arthur, wrapped in towels, giggled their way from the bathroom to their bedroom. After the door closed behind them I gave Dimitri a look that said 'did you see that?'

"They seem very happy together. Tasha deserves this." He smiled and stood pulling me up with him. "Come on we only have a few minutes to get ready."

We got ready quickly and then gathered in the parking lot and made quick work of the short walk to Victor's house. Like last night, Victor was waiting at the open door for us. Jill and Emily were sitting on the couch drinking coffee. We filtered into the room and took seats on the many couches and chairs.

Victor nodded to someone in the kitchen and soon a tray of coffee and tea was brought around. After we had taken our mugs another tray was brought out, but this one was filled with breakfast pastries.

"Victor, are Peter and your guardian back yet?" I asked ready to get down to business now that the coffee had cleared away my morning grogginess.

"Yes they arrived about 20 minutes ago. They are upstairs using the facilities. You are probably wondering if they found the diary. See for yourself they have already given what they found to Jill."

Jill held up the diary for us all to get a good look. "We need to figure out if there is anything hidden inside, but I would rather not ruin my diary if I can help it. " I knew that what Jill wasn't saying was that this was the only gift her father ever gave her and she didn't want to lose it.

She placed it in front of her on the coffee table and Abe stood up and walked over to get a closer look. "May I look at it?" He carefully picked up the diary and examined it. "Perhaps we could pass it around so that we all have a chance to take a look at it."

Jill nodded and Abe handed the diary to my mom. She looked at it and passed it on to Tasha, and then Arthur, Dimitri and finally it was my turn.

I looked at the leather cover and tried to figure out if there could be anything hidden underneath. I was very careful not to look at any of Jill's personal words that were carefully written in the bright pages. Jill had been right last night when she said the pages didn't match the antique look of the leather cover. There seemed to be padding under the leather making the cover a little longer and wider than the diary's pages.

I passed the book along to Victor and turned to Dimitri. "Is there any way to do an x-ray to see if there is anything inside, so we don't ruin it?"

"I don't think so. I'm not sure that an x-ray would help in this situation. If we do take it apart then we could most likely get it repaired at a leather shop and it should be good as new."

I didn't realize Jill was listening to our whispered conversation. "I don't want to ruin the book, but I agree with Dimitri that it could probably be repaired. I would rather take the chance of finding something from my dad hidden inside, especially if it saves my life or my sister's life."

"Do you have any tools that we could use to loosen the glue holding down the leather?" Arthur questioned Victor.

"I think there is a tool chest in the front hall closet. Maybe we could find something useful in there. If not maybe a nice sharp knife from the kitchen will do the job."

We decided to spread newspaper on the dining table to protect the expensive wood finish. Victor went to the tool cabinet and we gathered around it to assess our tool options. There were a few box cutters in the tool chest and I took one out and removed the razor blade from inside. I picked up a piece of newspaper and tested its sharpness. The blade sliced right through the paper like a hot knife through butter.

I joined the group gathered around the diary that was lying on the newspaper atop the table. No one seemed to want to be the first to touch and possibly ruin Jill's diary.

"I wonder if I could use heat to melt the glue holding the leather to the diary." Tasha pondered aloud.

Arthur reached over and touched her arm softly as he responded to her thoughts "I don't know if you should try that sweetie. What if the clue that is hidden inside melts?"

"Good point. It could be a computer disc and that would probably not respond well to the temperatures that it would take to melt the glue." Tasha put her hand lovingly atop Arthur's hand and looked at him with a deep affection. Then she glanced over at me.

I looked away quickly feeling guilty for intruding on their personal moment. I cleared my throat nervously and offered to be the one who tried with the razor knife first. "Jill, I am more than willing to allow you to do the honors. I mean it is your book…and your father…did you want to try first?"

"No, Rose. I am way too nervous to keep my hands still. I would probably cut myself and do more damage bleeding all over the leather." Jill backed away from the edge of the table leaving room for someone else who was willing to take a crack at the diary.

"Well if there are no complaints, I am willing to give it the old college try." With a glance around the room I found that all were eager to let me go first. So I leaned over the book carefully and started to slide the razor under the leather without cutting through it. I worked the corner cautiously and when it came up okay I slid the razor under the next section of leather. It was a tedious process and soon my hand started to cramp. I had moved to another corner and in my exhaustion sliced a small corner of the leather. I stood, stretched and held the razor out for someone else to take a turn.

Abe took the razor from me and worked at the book for a while. When he became tired he passed it on to Victor. This went on for some time. Each person in the room took a turn working patiently with the razor on the glue. Finally the leather piece was almost released from the front cover. Dimitri was working the blade back and forth over the last half inch of connected fibers. We all held our breath as he released the last bit.

Jill bent over the diary and peeled the leather back revealing the padding inside and the original cover of the diary. Nothing else. We all let out a collective groan. The back cover and the spine were still glued tightly. Jill laid the book flat and tried to lift the leather flap and the padding to see under to the back cover. It was so tight that she couldn't see anything.

"You have got to be kidding me. We have to go through that process again?" I complained loudly.

"Well just think we are all experts now. This should go a little faster. All we need is a new sharp blade to start on the back cover." Dimitri soothed my wounded spirits.

"All right, I guess I'll go first again."

"Wait Rose, do you mind if I give it a try this time? Jill asked politely.

I didn't answer. I just handed her the new sharp blade. She held it between her thumb and first finger and bent over the inside back cover of the diary. With careful hands she began the tedious process of sliding the razor under the glued leather.

The razor was passed around the circle until again we were at the point when the leather was released from its glue prison. Jill did the honors of peeling back the leather to reveal a small folded sheet of paper. She took hold of the paper and unfolded it. There was actually a full sheet of paper and then a handwritten note on a half sheet of monogrammed note paper.

I recognized the notepaper as being that of Lissa's father. I had seen her receive many of those notes over the years at St. Vlad's academy. I held my breath waiting for Jill to read the note aloud, but she didn't. As she read to herself her lips moved silently. I watched as a tear slid down her cheek, quivered and fell off her chin, barely missing the edge of the paper and crashing onto the newspaper covered table.

She slid the note under the larger document and took a moment to assess its contents, before saying, "I don't understand what this means. It is a hospital record showing Danielle's and Adrian's blood type. It says nothing about Nathan on here at all. This doesn't help us."

"Wait." Victor held up his hand and with his eyes and posture asked Jill's permission to take a look at the paper she held. She relinquished the document to him. He glanced at it and seemed to understand immediately. "Adrian's blood type is B and Daniella's is A. That would mean that Nathan's must be either B or AB."

"What is your blood type Victor?" I blurted. Well hell if I didn't do it who else in the room would have?

"I am glad you asked Rose! My blood type is AB, which means that indeed I could have fathered Adrian. Now all we need to find out is what Nathan's type is. "

"Couldn't we assume that Eric went to all this trouble to hide this information because he found out the truth?" Janine brought up the question that had to be on everyone's mind.

"No." Jill said and stopped all the chatter in the room that had arisen after Janine's comments. "The note says something like 'I am on the trail of the truth, but if you are reading this and the truth has not been revealed then I have been stopped permanently in my endeavors to reveal the real Daniella Taurus Ivashkov.'" Her voice started to break toward the end and Emily reached out and pulled her to her chest. Jill's head fell upon Emily's should and she started to sob.

We quietly cleared the room to give the two a little more privacy and to give Jill time to collect her thoughts and her composure. We gathered out on the deck and began discussing how to find out Nathan Ivashkov's blood type. Abe excused himself into the yard and glancing through the railing I could see him speaking on his cell phone. I tried to catch tidbits of his conversation, but the ocean drowned out any sounds of speech.

Emily and Jill slipped out onto the deck virtually unnoticed by the rest of the group, who were distracted by the heated discussion about how to find out Nathan's blood type and what exactly could Daniella be up to that Eric may have been able to stop. I noticed the pair, because I had tuned out the discussion to try and catch some of Abe's phone conversation.

I was watching Emily to try and get a read on how Jill was doing. That was when I noticed her get Abe's attention and a look passed between the two. I looked around the deck and realized that I was the only one who saw the secret message pass between Emily and my father.

I was determined to figure out exactly what was going on. I kept my senses hyper vigilant to make sure I caught any secret wink, nod, sigh, whistle…whatever I could see pass between anyone in my group, especially my mother and father. That is when I noticed Emily sneak into the house and a moment later heard Abe asking Victor directions to the bathroom.

I waited until everyone was absorbed in conversation again and slipped unnoticed into the house. I walked toward the bathroom, until I heard the hushed whispers of someone just beyond in the hallway to the stairs. I paused, pressing myself to the wall so that I could not be seen from their vantage point. I tried to quiet my breathing and concentrate on the sounds of their voices.

"Jill let me read the note. Abe I need to tell you. Eric was starting to catch on that Victor had his own agenda. He knew that he desired to be King and was starting to believe that he would do underhanded things just to make sure that happened. He also had just found out about the Sandovsky Syndrome and wondered how that would influence Victor's decisions. Eric seemed to know that we would be with Victor when we discovered the papers in the diary and cautioned Jill against trusting him."

"So, that note was written many years ago. It is interesting that Eric had his doubt about Victor's motives and his trustworthiness." Abe stopped for a minute and I tensed thinking that he might know that I was hiding around the corner. "Jill sure played that well back there Emily, you must be very proud of her."

Emily stuttered her next words, seeming confused for a minute at the abrupt change in conversation. Then before I understood what was happening Abe stood before me. He looked amused.

"Rose, why are you spying on us?" He asked curiously.

"I saw the secret look that passed between you two outside and decided to do a little investigating that is all." I said meekly.

"Why don't you join us then instead of spying on us?"

So I did just that. I walked into the hallway and said in a whisper. "Okay so what is the next step? Obviously we shouldn't be trusting Victor." I put my hands on my hips and waited for Abe's revelation. And waited. And waited.

"I already called the alchemists and they are digging out anything on Daniella, Nathan and Adrian as well as Victor. We will know soon if Adrian is Nathan's son or not. You do realize that none of this means he is actually Victor's either. There could be other potential fathers out there."

I rolled my eyes at Abe's last statement. Honestly how many men did he think Daniella was leading on at the same time? Victor told us that there was only him and Nathan…and before that…just him and, and….Oh God, Eric Dragomir.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I went back out to the deck and on the way practiced my blank face. I had to slip back in unnoticed and if I allowed my face to show the confusion that I was feeling inside it would definitely be obvious.

Dimitri looked up as I slid in beside him on the wicker couch. I knew immediately that he wasn't fooled by my mask. I was trying not to look at him, and eye contact was out of the question. I decided looking out over the ocean was the safest option. Dimitri reached over and placed his hand on my knee. I shook my head hoping he would understand that I meant – not now. He gave a little squeeze, message understood. Thank goodness.

Abe came back from his trip to the bathroom and took his seat next to Janine. "I was thinking we should head back to the hotel and grab some lunch. We have all been on edge and I think a few hours of free time will do us some good."

Arthur spoke up from his place next to Tasha. "I could really use a break, Abe. I appreciate the offer."

At that point we all rose and thanked Victor for his hospitality again. Jill walked with me to the door and asked if maybe we could get together later and call our friends at the Royal Court. I had forgotten that I had promised to do that with her yesterday. We made plans to meet back here after dinner.

On the walk back home I waited for Abe to bring up Jill's note from Eric. He said nothing. I decided to take a cue from his playbook and say nothing as well. The others were talking about the diary and how smart it was for Eric to hide the information in there.

Then the conversation turned to why Eric didn't leave the papers in with the other important legal documents over which Victor was guardian. This brought up a whole host of 'maybes' and 'perhaps' scenarios from everyone except for Abe and me.

"All right, that's it! Rose hasn't said one thing. Abe I could buy, but not Rose. What are you hiding?" Tasha had stopped walking and she had her hands on her hips. She looked as serious as she did that night at the ski resort, facing down all those Moroi.

I looked over at Abe for help. "How about we continue this conversation in a more private place? Seeing as our hotel walls are as thin as paper, I will tell the driver to get the car ready. We can drive around, talk and grab some lunch at the same time. Sound good?"

Everyone expressed their willingness to go along with the plan. We had a few minutes to go into our rooms and freshen up before we were leaving for our discussion and lunch.

I was thinking about Adrian and how his life was going to be thrown into turmoil soon. I know firsthand what it is like to find your father, after all I just found out about Abe right before graduation. Although I didn't grow up thinking that some other man was my father. Who knows, Nathan could be his father.

If Eric Dragomir turned out to be his father he would be in the same boat as Jill, there will never be a chance for them to get to know their father. I think finding out who your father is and finding out that he is already dead and therefore you can never have any type of relationship with him has got to be the worst scenario. I really feel bad for Jill.

Thinking about Adrian made me decide to try and call him. I know it is the middle of the night for him and he's probably sleeping. He hasn't been answering the phone or the door in the middle of the day- I think to avoid his concerned friends, but maybe he would be more likely to answer when he was asleep-more out of habit. Hey anything was worth a shot.

I let Dimitri know that I would meet him in the parking lot and went out on our balcony to make a phone call. I dialed Adrian's cell number from memory and waited while it rang. The butterflies that were flying around in my stomach increased their intensity until they felt more like hummingbirds. I felt like I was going to hurl. The phone rang and rang. After six rings I wondered if his voicemail was ever going to pick up when I heard a hoarse 'Hello'.

"Adrian? Is that you?"

"No Rose, it's headmistress Korova…of course it's me."

"Adrian, I'm sorry, you just don't sound like you. I know I woke you up and I'm also sorry about that."

"You didn't wake me. I haven't actually been sleeping a lot lately. I have had a lot on my mind."

"Yeah, I was there in Lissa's head remember? That's actually one of the reasons I was calling in the middle of your night. Lissa tried to call you and stopped over yesterday, but you didn't answer the phone or the door."

"I let the phone battery die and I went for a long walk alone yesterday. I needed to get away from my room and do some thinking."

"Are you feeling okay?" What I really wanted to ask was have you been drinking and smoking too much? Or do you feel like you are a danger to yourself or others?

"Yes, I feel fine Rose. You know I am stronger than you think."

I really didn't think that was true, but I wasn't about to burst his bubble. "You are Adrian. I do believe that you are a strong person." I lied effortlessly. After all this was a very important lie and I needed him to believe it.

"Thank you Rose. You believing in me makes me feel better." His voice actually sounded a little more positive than it did in the beginning of the conversation.

I thought of something and decided to see if my plan would work. "Adrian, I am calling because I need you to keep an eye on Lissa while I am not there to protect her. Can you do that for me?"

"What's wrong with Christian keeping an eye on her?"

"I am just worried about her and the more people that can keep her safe the better. Besides the two of you have a special spirit connection and that will help you keep her extra safe." I knew he couldn't argue with my spirit excuse.

"Of course I can Rose. You know I care for Lissa and wouldn't let anything happen to her. I won't let you down."

I hoped he would say that. Now I gave him a purpose and something to think about other than his own deranged mother and her questionable activities. "So will you get some sleep so that you can spend some time with her tonight?"

"Okay Rose. I will. You can count on me. I won't let you down." Adrian was completely sold on his new assignments.

"Thanks Adrian. I will let you go so that you can get some sleep." I added a little finality into my words. "Goodnight, sleep well." I closed up my cell phone tucked it in my pocket and left the room to meet the others at the car.

The air condition was on full blast and the back of the limo felt like an arctic oasis from the Louisiana heat. The driver parked the car, but left it running as he went inside to pick up our take-out.

"So do we all agree we are in a private place right?" Tasha asked politely. She looked at each of us with a small smile of anticipation on her face.

"Yes, Tasha sweetheart. We are in a private place. Ask away." Abe could barely contain the laughter in his voice.

"Please share the new information with us." She was so excited she nearly bounced in her seat.

The door opened and the driver handed us the large brown bag that contained our sandwiches. Then he passed out two of the little cardboard drink holders that contained our sweet teas. Once we were all situated with the food Abe gave a nod and the driver pulled out of the parking lot.

The divider went up between the front and the back and Abe set his sandwich aside and explained the note that Eric had hidden in the diary and the warning to not trust Victor's intentions.

When he finished I let everyone know that I had gotten in touch with Adrian and although he seemed a little down he did agree to contact Lissa tonight.

We then discussed how to contact Rhonda and if anyone thought that angle might help us anyway. The consensus was why not give it a shot. The most she could say was that she didn't remember. Then we got into the argument of whether we could trust Rhonda or could she secretly be a member of the group that was led by Daniella.

"I don't think she is a part of that group. Queen Tatiana went to Rhonda for regular readings so she must have trusted her. Rhonda's nephew, Ambrose, was in love and having a relationship with the Queen. I think he would have known if Rhonda was on an opposing team."

Everyone agreed with my assessment, so I was given the task of contacting Ambrose and explaining the complicated request. Hopefully he would be able to get some information from his aunt without arousing too much attention.

With all the secrets shared and a plan for the evening we now had our afternoon free. Abe surprised us with his next announcement.

"I have rented a charter boat and a captain to bring us out into the ocean for the afternoon. Those who want to fish can and those who don't can just relax and enjoy the boat ride out in the open waters." He used then intercom to instruct the driver back to our hotel. We had a 5 minute pit stop to change clothes and head over to the chartered boat.

It had a small protected canopy for those who wanted to stay out of the sun. It also had a bathroom down below and a small room complete with a cooler full of beer, wine coolers, soda and water.

It was relaxing and fun. I tried my hand at fishing, but unlike Dimitri I didn't catch anything. He caught a big grouper, but released him back into the ocean. The others each took a turn casting out and trying their hand at deep sea fishing.

My mother had the catch of the day and wrestled with her fish for about a half hour. It was a huge fish. We saw it a few times during the fight as it broke the surface of the water in its effort to fight free. In the end the line broke and the fish won its freedom. After that we all gave up on fishing and just relaxed and enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon.

The sun was lowering in the western sky and the boat was heading back to the dock. Our three hour tour was now over and thank goodness we had better weather than Gilligan and his friends. When we could see the land and the buildings dotting the shore our cell phones started chirping, alerting some of us of missed messages.

I checked my messages and there was one from Victor's phone, but it was just Jill confirming that I was coming over later. I hung up and realized that Dimitri had disappeared to the front of the boat to listen to his messages. Scanning the crowd I also noticed that Abe had disappeared as well. I wondered if he was getting news on Nathan or Eric's blood type, or news of Daniella and her group.

Just as I was letting my mind wander about what Daniella could be up to Dimitri came back to sit down next to me. He was quiet for a while and I waited until I couldn't stand it any longer.

"Did you learn anything from your spies?"

"Yes, but I am not sure how this will help us. I learned that several larger families have gone on sudden 'vacations'. My spies think that they have gone into hiding."

"What does that mean?" I looked at him perplexed. The sun was shining right into his brown eyes making them sparkle and making him squint to keep eye contact with me.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it could be anything good." He put his head down slightly, which shielded his eyes from the sun. I wondered if he also did that to break eye contact with me. Was he hiding something?

Abe came back upstairs to the deck at that moment and announced. "I found out that Nathan has a blood type of O and that Eric has a blood type of B. This means that Nathan is definitely ruled out, but either Victor or Eric could be Adrian's father. Or it could be someone else altogether… maybe even one of the members of Daniella's secret faction."

The news stunned us all and there were several sharp intakes of breath. "How are we going to figure out if he is Eric's or Victor's or not?"

"Rose, I don't know. Do you have any suggestions? Does anyone?" Abe looked tired. His eyelids were starting to droop with the lack of sleep and the weight of all that has happened in the last week.

"What about getting a swab or a sample of hair or something, like they do on those crime shows." I offered.

"DNA." Dimitri added helpfully.

"Okay, but how. How are we going to get Victor to give us a sample? And who will we use for Eric's substitute." Abe looked from Dimitri to me with a challenging note in his voice.

I thought on it for a moment. "I am going to Victor's tonight to hang out with Jill. Maybe we could get a sample from him tonight. Would Jill be good enough to use for Eric, or should we use something from Lissa?"

"Jill should suffice. I suggest you try for a sample of Victor's hair. Something you could get without arousing his suspicion. Maybe Jill could show you where he keeps his combs or brushes."

"Don't worry about anything. I have accomplished a lot harder tasks than this one." I was psyched. Jill would be too. She loves this sort of thing. "What about Adrian? Tasha, do you think we could get Christian to get a sample somehow from him…without getting Lissa involved or arousing her suspicion."

"He is a very smart guy. I am sure he could get something. He is great at science too, so I am sure he would know what would and wouldn't work. I will think about a cover story and then give him a call." With that she and Arthur put their heads together and started to whisper.

The boat circled into the harbor and turned to park at the dock that we had left from several hours before. The captain tied off the boat and we left the boat and our afternoon of fun in the sun behind us. The driver had the limo waiting with the air conditioning blasting and we slid in for our trip back to the hotel.

I only had about 30 minutes to shower and dress to meet up with Jill at Victors. Dimitri walked me there and gave me a kiss at the door. Victor invited him to come in and share a drink with him. I gave Dimitri a look that said 'accept the offer'.

Dimitri graciously accepted and the two headed off for the back deck. Jill was waiting in the living room and I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the stairs.

"Where are we going, Rose?" She looked concerned and confused. She stumbled over her own feet as I pulled at her hand in an effort to make her follow me.

"I thought we'd go to your room so that we could talk privately." I winked at her and kept my hold on her hand.

"Okay. Let's go." A smiled started spreading on her face and I knew right then that she was up for whatever adventure I had planned.

When we closed her bedroom door behind us I whispered. "Okay, so we're going to try to prove whether Victor is Adrian's dad or not. We are going to need a DNA sample. Then Abe has the Alchemists all ready to do testing to see if there is a match or not. That way it's all kept secret and we don't need forms and consent and all that legal stuff."

"Sounds easy enough. What do we need to get, like a blood sample or something?"

"No, nothing that hard, just some hair should do it. Do you guys share a bathroom or anything?"

She shook her head. "No my mom and I do, his guardians do, but Victor has his own in his bedroom suite."

I jumped up and started for the door. "Let's go now while Dimitri has him occupied downstairs."

She followed me to the door. We cracked it open and peered out. "Which way is Victor's room?" I looked left and right there were doors both directions.

Jill didn't answer. She just grabbed my hand and started walking to the left. Great away from the stairs and there was only Victor's room down this way. If anyone happened upon us we would have no excuses. I guess we just better not get caught.

We stopped outside Victor's door and I said a little mantra in my head 'please don't be locked, please don't be locked'. Jill hesitated for a few seconds obviously wondering why I was just standing here. She reached out and gave a careful twist of the knob. It turned effortlessly, and then she silently pushed it open.

We looked left and right and then slipped inside and closed the door behind us. There was a door directly across the room and one diagonally across the room. One of those has to be the bathroom. We walked straight across the room and flicked on the light right inside the door. We got the bathroom on the first try.

I immediately went for Victor's toiletry kit on the bathroom counter. Inside I found a comb, but it was completely clean of any hairs. I held it up for Jill to examine.

"Now what?" her shoulders slumped for a second and then a thought came to her and she snapped her head toward the floor scanning for something. She frowned and then reached for the vanity cabinet. "Here it is." She pulled out a trash can from under the sink. She dug around carefully inside it. "Aha! Here" She pulled out a tangle of hair.

We didn't plan this very well, because we had nothing to put the hair into. Jill put the trash can back under the sink and closed the cabinet. "What do I do with the hair?"

"Hold on to it until we get back to your room."

We headed out of the bathroom and on our way across the room I noticed a desk that I hadn't seen when we first walked in. I went over and opened the top left hand drawer. Sure enough there was a box of mailing envelopes in there. I grabbed one and we headed out the door, closed it quietly behind us, and slipped into Jill's room unnoticed.

"Here, put the hair in this." I offered the envelope to Jill. She tilted her hand and the clump of hair rolled into the open envelope. I sealed it, just in case. "Now, the second part of our mission is that I need a DNA sample from you. I think since you're a willing donor maybe a cheek swab would be better."

"What if we don't do it right? I would be afraid to mess up the results." Jill said pensively.

"Okay, how about we take a swab and send in some hair too?" I was looking around the room to see if Jill had a desk too. She didn't have one. I should have grabbed more envelopes from Victor's room.

Jill saw me scanning the room for supplies. "Let's go down to the kitchen and get a snack. I am sure they have Ziploc bags that we could use. We'll come right back here to finish the collection."

I agreed and we went down for the snack, found the bags and returned to her room with our bounty. Jill popped into her bathroom and grabbed a Q-tip. She closed the bedroom door behind her and came over to sit on the bed beside me and the Ziploc bags.

"Okay I am ready. So I am just going to rub this on the inside of my cheek and then put it in the bag. We can pull out some of my hair and put it in the other bag." She opened her mouth and rolled around the Q-tip. I held the Ziploc open and she dropped it inside. The hair collection was next and when we had it all collected I asked if she had a marker that would write on the bags.

She pulled a mini-Sharpie out of her purse and we wrote on the envelope and then the Ziplocs. I put the collection into the bag I brought over with me and we left it hanging on the doorknob. With all that business finished I could feel Jill's excitement start to build.

"Do you know how long it's been since I talked with everyone at the Court? I mean I have texted since graduation, but not really talked with anyone. And since I have been with Victor…I don't know I just miss everyone so much more…and talking not texting just feels so important."

"I know how you feel."

"Oh, Rose. I'm sorry. What a jerk I am for saying that. You are on the run too. I'm sorry."

"Jill, no, don't even worry. I didn't mean it that way." I smiled and held out the cell phone.

Jill reached out to take the phone from me and I had a sudden thought. "How are we going to explain being together?"

Jill fumbled the phone and it dropped to the bed. "Uh oh. I never thought of that."

We were both silent for a minute and then I suggested. "Let's not say were with Victor. She knows that I bumped into him, but not that we are working with him. Maybe we should pretend that I ended up in Detroit and looked you up."

"I think that might work." Jill reached down and picked up the phone again. "Do you have the numbers programmed in, because I don't know them without my phone?"

"They aren't programmed in, but I know Adrian's, Christian's and Lissa's by heart. Who do you want to call?" I asked, but I already knew that she would say Christian. Those two had a big brother- little sister type relationship. Boy isn't that ironic. She has a deeper connection with the one person out of those three that she wasn't related to.

"I think I'd like to try Christian first."

I took the phone from her and dialed. Then I handed it back and waited and watched. While it rang she played absent mindedly with the edges of the bedspread. I knew that he answered when her whole face lit up. "Christian?" she nearly shouted with joy.

She listened for a minute and then the rambling conversation started. I sat quietly and listened to her end of the conversation. I heard her slip in the lie about us being together and he must have bought it, because the conversation slid on to new topics. I learned that Mia, Lissa and Christian were all over in Adrian's suite by his invitation.

That was good news. I stopped listening to Jill's conversation and thought about how happy I was to know that Adrian was taking my request seriously. He was going to do everything he could to protect Lissa.

I was surprised when Jill was passing the phone into my hand. "Christian wants to speak with you." Jill was saying to me.

"What. Oh, okay." I took the phone and held it to my ear. "Christian , how are you?"

"Listen Rose, I don't have much time before the others have realized that I wandered off. I got a call from Tasha today asking for a favor and I don't buy her excuse. What is really going on?"

"Uh. I don't know what you're talking about." I lied.

"Come on Rose. You are a terrible liar. Tasha told me that in order to protect Lissa they needed some of her hair for an earth magic spell." Christian sounded a little frustrated and a little angry. "Tell me the truth Rose. If it was a spell to protect Lissa then why do I also need a sample from Adrian?"

"Christian, leave it alone for now. Just do what Tasha asked of you and believe that it is to protect Lissa. You will learn the rest soon enough. In the mean time, just keep her safe. And stay safe yourself too, okay?" I kept my voice unwavering. I didn't want to give him room to argue with me.

"I don't like it, but I will do what you ask. I do trust that you have Lissa's best interest in mind always." He coughed a little and then said, "Lissa would like to say hello."

The phone was passed from Lissa to Mia and then Adrian. Jill and I took turns talking with our friends. Luckily Christian had explained that we were together in Detroit so that we didn't have to repeat the lie to every person. I think that Adrian or Lissa surely would have detected the lie in my voice and called me on it.

After we hung up with our friends I told Jill, "I am going to call Ambrose really quick. I got his number from Lissa tonight. She asked why, but I managed to change the subject before I had to lie to her."

"That's good, because you're not a very good liar."

"Thanks." I added a little sarcastically. I opened the phone and punched in the numbers to Ambrose's cell.

He answered on the second ring, but sounded very cautious. He didn't know who was calling and this number was blocked. "Hello?"

"Ambrose, it's Rose. I need to ask a favor. It will help us solve the Queen's murder." I rambled hoping that he wouldn't hang up on me.

"Rose, how are you?" He sounded so concerned it threw me for a minute.

"I, uh, I am doing okay. We keep hitting road blocks though and new mysteries keep getting in the way. That is why I am calling you. One of the new, I mean old mysteries that I think maybe connected has to do with your aunt."

"Go on I'm listening." He urged.

"I was hoping that Rhonda has a really good memory and she could remember a reading that she gave Daniella Ivashkov about 23 years ago. And this needs to be kept secret."

"I will see what I can do. I trust that you will solve this Rose, and obviously Tatiana had a lot of faith in you too." He sounded sad when he mentioned the Queen.  
"Hey this number is blocked. How can I get in touch with you if I find out anything."

I gave him the number and ended the call with a lot of pleasantries and well wishes from both parties. That went better than I could have planned, but what did I expect from the Queen's lover. He trusted that I was going to solve her murder.

We were just finishing up our call when there was a knock on the door. Dimitri and Victor were standing out in the hall. "I was going to head home now and wanted to know if you were almost done here. I don't want you walking back alone."

"I am ready to go. Jill and I talked with everyone." I turned and gave Jill a big hug. "Tonight was fun. Thanks for having me over."

"Thanks for helping me connect with our friends. It meant a lot to me." Her face told me just how helpful this call had been. She was glowing with happiness. It was a much better look than the tear filled girl from this morning.

"Anytime, and tonight meant a lot to me too. Goodnight."

Then I took Dimitri's hand in one hand and my bag off the door knob with my other and we walked down the stairs and out the door into the balmy night.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

As soon as we got back to the hotel Abe took the samples I had collected and shipped them off to the Alchemists for the testing to be run. He told me that Christian's samples will be collected by a courier tonight and as soon as the lab had all the samples they could start the testing process. The good news is that it wasn't a commercial lab so the project would be done immediately. We should know by tomorrow or the next day if either Victor or Eric was the biological father of Adrian.

I was beat after spending the day out on the ocean and just wanted to crawl into bed and snuggle with Dimitri. Abe didn't keep us and we went into our hotel room only to run into Tasha and Arthur in the shared living room.

Tasha was lying on the small couch with her legs draped over Arthurs lap. "How did tonight go?"

"I got the samples and Abe has already packaged them up and the courier is on the way to bring them to the lab." I sagged against Dimitri and he wrapped his arm around my waist and supported some of my weight.

"Good. You talked with Christian too?"

"Yeah and he promised to get the samples tonight. He and Lissa were over at Adrian's place so it should be a breeze for him to get something. Jill really got a lift talking with them too." Dimitri squeezed his arm around my waist and started turning to our room.

"I hate to cut this short, but Rose is exhausted and I am going to get her into bed."

"Okay you two, see you in the morning." Tasha started swinging her legs off onto the floor, but Arthur put a hand on her calf.

"Tasha and I were thinking of showering again before bed. We'll wait until you two are all ready for bed."

"Sounds good. We won't be long." I said wearily and turned to go into the bathroom to brush and wash before bed.

When I was done in the bathroom I stripped down and slid in between the clean sheets of the bed. It felt so wonderful to melt in and let the exhaustion take my body bit by bit.

Dimitri joined me and carefully molded his body to mine and put his head next to mine on the pillow.

"Goodnight Roza. I love you." I felt his gentle lips on the side of my head and then felt the weight of his head rest back down on the pillow.

"I love you too. I wish the hotel walls weren't so damn thin. I hope we can figure this whole thing out and go back home soon. Wait…we don't have a home. Or jobs-"

"Shhh. All that will work itself out. Don't you worry. Our jobs now are to clear your name and solve this Daniella mystery. Nothing else." His calm voice whispered in my ear and he was rubbing soothing circles on my arm with his fingers. "Don't get worked up or you will never fall asleep."

"You're right. I just want everything to be perfect for us." I let out a sigh.

"It already is perfect, because we are together. And together we can work out anything. Now I want you to dream about what kind of house we are going to live in and you can tell me about it in the morning." He kissed my cheek and I turned my head to kiss his lips. It was a steamy kiss, but not one that meant that there was more to come. This kiss was perfect it said I love you, I need you and I will be right here next to you when morning comes.

I woke up to calypso music playing out on the beach. I slid out of bed and out the sliding glass doors onto the large deck. There were palm trees everywhere and the sun was bright in the sky. I squinted and tried to focus on the source of the music. There were a quartet of well tanned gentleman down on the shore with steel drums, flute, bongos, and a guitar. Beyond the band was the most gorgeous turquoise water that I have ever seen.

I started to walk toward the stairs and nearly tripped on my high heel sandals. I looked down at my feet and on the way down was surprised to see the small patches of white material that were attached to my body with strings. - A bikini- a very tiny, string bikini.

High heels and a string bikini… "Adrian! Adrian where are you?"

I looked out at the beach and saw two lounge chairs set up side by side and in between a table of exotic drinks with umbrellas.

"Come down here Rose. Take a load off and have a drink."

"I just spoke to you a couple hours ago, what else has happened to warrant this dream walk?"

"What? I can't just want to spend time with you? I thought we were friends…but if that's how you feel then I will let you go."

"No Adrian! That isn't what I meant at all and you know it. You just had me worried that something bad happened." I walked down to the beach and took a seat on the lounge chair. Adrian handed me a red drink with fresh strawberries and pineapple on the rim.

"Nothing bad happened. I just wanted to let you know that I am feeling better and I got my head back in the game. I realized I was feeling bad for myself and really I should be worried about you clearing your name and I should be helping to protect Lissa."

"Adrian, thank you. We need all the help we can get. I am hoping that we can solve this and come home soon. If you help then we might be home even quicker."

He smiled at me and held his drink out to clink against my glass. "Cheers Rose."

"Cheers." I smiled back at him as we clinked our glasses together. I took a sip of the delicious tropical drink.

Suddenly the world that Adrian created blurred and he looked at me with a strange expression on his face. "Rose, what's wrong?"

"Adrian, can you hear me? I don't know what's happening." The tropical beach blurred until I was back in the hotel room. I tried to focus and get my bearings, but when I looked up I found I was staring into a face I did not recognize.

"Dimitri?" I tried to scream, but it came out in a whisper. I felt strange and my world was blurring and the edge of my vision was getting dark. Before it darkened all together I frantically looked around for Dimitri. It was dark, but I thought that I saw a limp form on the bed.

I tried to struggle away from my captor and let out a scream of warning to Abe and my mother on the other side of the wall, but I couldn't make my muscles listen to my brain. My world went dark.

When I awoke the first thing I did was try to struggle away from my captors, but there wasn't anyone holding me. A stabbing pain shot through my head and the bright light coming in through a high window made the back of my head throb. I closed my eyes until they were slits and I looked around to find I was alone in a room with a small window about ten feet up. The room was furnished with a cot, which I was laying on, a small table and a folding chair. I assessed the furniture to see if there was anything I could stand on to get a look out that window.

I decided that before I tried climbing anything I should see if I could move all my limbs. I lifted my arms and they moved just fine. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly sat up. The room spun for a minute and then settled. My head was still throbbing, but I stood up anyway. I carefully walked around the room holding on to the wall to keep steady. I really needed to get my blood flowing back into my legs and getting my bearings at the same time.

The room was institutional in design. It was about ten feet by seven feet and only had the one window. The walls were white and the door was wood. The ceiling was white with fluorescent tube lighting and the floor was white and grey linoleum. A quick scan didn't reveal any type of camera or microphone.

Well no good information there. I had to get up to peek out that window. I slid the chair over and climbed onto it. I stood on my tiptoes and I wasn't quite tall enough to see out the window. I got off the chair and tested the durability of the small table. It felt pretty sturdy so I lifted it onto the folding chair and carefully climbed first onto the chair and then onto the table. It wobbled, but held.

I stood to the side of the window and then slowly peered out. Luckily they had put me in a room that looked out onto the street instead of into an alley. I could see cars driving by and I could see part of the street sign on the corner of the closest intersection. There was a tree blocking my view of the whole sign, but I could make out Guadal and the number 44 of the intersecting street. According to the license plates on most of the cars we were in Texas.

So they hadn't flown me anywhere, probably took a few hours to drive here from Louisiana. I looked out the window again trying to gauge the angle of the sun. If I was estimating correctly it was mid afternoon. "What kind of drugs did those thugs give me? I have been out for at least 12 hours. How am I getting out of here?" I mumbled to myself. Wow I'm losing it. Now I am talking to myself- out loud.

I wonder if they took everyone from the hotel or just me. I hope it was just me, so that at least someone knows that I am gone and they can start looking for me. Plus I wouldn't wish this headache that I have on anyone. It's worse than any hangover I ever had in my old partying days.

I climbed down and put the furniture back exactly where it was. I didn't want to be caught when my captors came back to check on me. Really I had learned everything I could from looking out the window…at least for now…and I feared someone walking in on me.

My head was really throbbing again. Maybe if I lay back down and rested for a while more my head would feel better. Where are the ibuprofen and a glass of water when a girl needs them?

I climbed back into the bed, well cot, and got as comfortable as I could. I snuggled into the pillow and closed my eyes. I thought with my pounding head I would drift off to sleep pretty quickly, but the calypso music was quite annoying. I opened my eyes again to tell whoever was playing the music so loud to shut it off, when I realized I was back in the lounge chair with Adrian.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled at him. I started to wince at my own voice and realized that I wasn't in any pain.

Adrian looked at me a little stunned and frankly a little hurt by my outburst. "Why don't you tell me what is going on, Rose. Truthfully I am just as confused as you are."


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Adrian is this a new day or the same day as yesterday?" I asked him seriously.

His hurt look changed into one of concern as he wrapped me in his arms. "Calm down little dhampir." He whispered into my hair. "Calm down and just breathe for a minute." He held me tight for a minute murmuring "shh" over and over again.

When he pulled back and looked at me I was able to string my thoughts together a little better. "Is this the same dream or has time gone by?"

"That was much better. You had me really worried for a second." He smiled and reached out to hold my hand. He squeezed it gently and then replied, "I have been trying to contact you for about the last 15 hours. Not only with the dream walking I also called your cell phone and got in touch with Christian who tried his aunt's cell phone. No one could be reached."

He paused and watched me while I absorbed the news. So I am not the only one missing. That means the room I am in is not a dream and I wasn't in Lissa's head. I sighed with relief. Lissa was safe.

I wondered if the others were here with me in rooms like my own. "Okay. So I have been taken- abducted- kidnapped- whatever. Chances are pretty good that they took my mother, father, Dimitri, Peter, Arthur and Tasha too."

"Do you have any idea where they took you, or even who took you? If you can give me some clues maybe I can find you." A determined smile crept onto Adrian's face. "I am going to find you Rose." The strength in his voice was reassuring.

"Thanks Adrian." I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. I had gotten a look out the window in my holding cell, now if I could remember what I saw. I looked into Adrian's green eyes. "I was only awake for a few minutes. They must have drugged me, because I have been sleeping since I left you yesterday. A man took me from my hotel room, but they had already drugged me and it was dark so I didn't get a good look at him. When I woke up I was in a room with a small window near the ceiling. The cars parked nearby had Texas plates and the building I am in is near or on a street named Guadal and the number 44. There was a tree in the way, so some of the letters were cut off. That's all I've got."

"That's good information. I think that will help a lot. I will get Mia, Christian and Lissa and we will figure out where you are." He tried to hide the worry in his voice with determination, but his green eyes betrayed his anxiety.

I pretended I couldn't tell how worried he was for my safety and covered my own worry with a big smile. "We need to set up some way to meet again so that I can give you any new information that I have learned and you can tell me what's happening on your end."

"Okay, so why don't we plan on me visiting you in your dreams. Why don't you pick a time and just make sure you are asleep then. If anything goes wrong I will check every hour after that time until I find you."

I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. "That sounds good. I am not sure who is holding me and what they plan to do to me. So I like the failsafe of you checking on me every hour."

I could tell that Adrian just got a great idea. His face absolutely lit up. "Try to go into Lissa's head often and if we have any trouble connecting with you we will make sure Lissa leaves you notes about any updates or changes."

"Adrian, you are brilliant!" I reached out and squeezed his hand again.

He got a cocky grin on his face. "Finally you see the real me, little dhampir. "

I reached out and punched him in the arm. "I have always seen you Adrian." I looked him right in the eyes and made sure he was hearing what I was saying. "Listen. Just because we are not together it doesn't mean that I don't love you."

He smiled a weary, sad smile and wrapped me in his arms. "I love you too Rose." He started squeezing me harder and harder.

"Okay…Adrian…can't breathe." I rasped. He let me go and then looked down at me.

"Rose, I need to go and get the others on board so we can rescue you. I can't rescue you until I know where you are, so I have a lot of work to do. "

"Okay Adrian. Can you tell the others I said sorry in advance that I am dragging you all into this mess? Oh, and tell them thanks and that I love them and miss them and-"

"Snap out of it little dhampir!" He said sharply. "You can tell them all that yourself when we get you out. Stay safe until we get there." He had put both his hands on my shoulders to get my attention and now he let his hands drift down my arms and grasp my hands.

"You are right. Again. Okay I will try to stay safe until I see you again, later. Wait! We never picked a time." That reminded me, "What time is it now, by the way?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "It is 5:30 now- uh 4:30 for you. Do you want to say 1:00 your time for our next dream walk?"

I smiled at the prospect of seeing him again in a few hours. "Sounds good, see you then." I barely had the words out when the beach began blurring around the edges.

"Bye Rose." Adrian said as the world faded to black.

I slowly came back to consciousness the smile from my encounter from Adrian still on my face. I opened my eyes and found I was on my cot on my side facing the wall. The lights were out and the room had darkened slightly.

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled. I wasn't alone anymore. I held my breath for a few seconds. Sure enough I could hear someone else breathing behind me. I thought about pretending to be asleep and ignoring my visitor, but I was too curious about what they wanted from me. I allowed myself to breathe again and I slowly rolled over.

My uninvited guest was sitting in the only chair in the room. He was sitting with his legs crossed and his hands resting on his lap. Completely casual and relaxed he stared into my eyes. "Look who is awake?"

"Who?" I snapped back sarcastically.

He lifted his hands in a gesture of peace. "Now, now Rose. No need to be angry. No one is going to hurt you here. We just want to ask you a few questions."

"If all you wanted was to ask me a few questions, then why am I locked in this room? Why didn't you just approach us to talk back in Louisiana?"

His smile turned into a thin line. He looked as if he was holding in his anger, counting to ten in his head before he said something he would regret. "I said I wanted to ask you a few questions, not the other way around."

"How about you answer some of mine and then I might return the favor. Consider it a peace offering. So I'll ask you again. Why didn't you just make a meeting with me in Louisiana?" I pushed.

"Because we needed to separate you so we can compare your answers." He growled, and then he immediately looked displeased with himself.

I had him now. My plan was to keep pushing him until he gave me more information. "So you committed a felony and kidnapped 7 adults to find out a little information. What could be so important that you would do that?"

"None of your business little girl!" He closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth.

"So I take it you have been spying on us and waited until we were all tucked safely in our beds before you seized the opportunity to drug us and drag us here?" My questions were like a hammer against his crystalline exterior. He was cracking. This guy was definitely not a professional. Not a hired mercenary. Not a Moroi. Not a dhampir.

"Yesss." He hissed the word at me.

"So you think drugging me and dragging me here against my will proves that you don't want to hurt me? What kind of strange logic is that?" I shouted at him.

"It beats what Daniella wanted to do to you." He stiffened when the words left his mouth. "Damn, little girl, you are going to be sorry that you made me say that."

I had to keep him going, to learn more from him. I figured this guy had a temper, but he didn't look too fit and he didn't look like he knew how to fight. He was just a human. I think I could take him.

"So Daniella wanted to torture me is that it?" I pressed.

"Yeah and if you keep it up that is exactly what I am going to do." He threatened me, but I could tell it was an empty threat.

"You're not getting paid enough to torture anyone. This isn't your fight." I could tell by his posture that I was right. He wasn't as determined or as confident as when this started. "How does Daniella plan on letting us go without getting herself in trouble? She doesn't. She is going to kill us and you will be an accessory to murder."

"No. That isn't the plan. I was told you were to go free after you answered our questions."

"Come on buddy. You are smarter than that. That isn't the way things like this work. They hire some outsiders and pin the crime on them, and then they get away scot free." I narrowed my eyes and then added. "You won't get paid and you'll be in jail."

He shook his head again. "That isn't-"

"Isn't it? Think about it for a minute. That is a classic con so the way I figure it, you are pretty much screwed." I chuckled softly. "Unless…" I stopped dramatically. He leaned in toward me.

"Unless what?" He asked curiously.

I totally had him. "My father is rich. He could pay you and your team more money, more than Daniella is paying." I paused and looked at him. He was listening. This plan may just work. "Think about it. It's a win- win situation. You get more money and no murder rap."

He got up from his chair and paced around the room. "Listen! I need some info from you or I am going to get fired and then she'll probably hire a new team who will torture you. So why don't you give me a little to show that I can get you to cooperate."

He seemed like he was willing to switch teams. Was this guy playing me? Maybe he was smarter than he looked. Or maybe he really wanted to make sure we didn't get tortured. However this goes I had to look like I was willing to give a little.

"What information are you looking for?"

"I need to know where the illegitimate Dragomir is."

I gave him a blank stare. That was the one thing I was hoping he didn't ask. "Excuse me? I don't know what you are talking about." I was hoping that this guy couldn't read me like my friends could. They all tell me that I am a terrible liar.

Apparently he bought into my deception, because then he asked, "Why were you traveling all over the US in the last few days?"

"To clear my name of the Queen's murder." I answered truthfully. After all I was doing both things at once.

"The Queen? What Queen?" His forehead wrinkled in confusion.

Right. Human. "This woman from my hometown. Her nickname was Queen."

"You said THE Queen. That doesn't sound like the way you say a nickname."

Darn it. This guy wasn't as dumb as he looked. "You don't know this lady." I laughed disbelievingly. "She was one of those stuck up people who thought they were all that and a bag of chips. So a lot of people in the town called her 'The Queen'" I lied a little more smoothly than last time.

"Yeah, I have met a few people like that in my life." His forehead smoothed. Thank God he believed me. "So someone is framing you for her murder?"

"Yeah, so believe me when I tell you that you don't want to be in my shoes. Proving you're being framed isn't easy. We have been chasing ghosts all over the U.S. and I haven't really found anything that will help clear me."

He stayed quiet for a minute processing my story. "Okay, tell you what. I will tell them that you were still sleeping and I'll come back later." I lay back down on the bed. "Besides there are 6 others here and I am sure some of my colleagues can get them to spill." He smirked and then turned on his heels and walked to the door. He knocked twice and after a minute the door opened.

I stayed on the bed thinking about what I had learned. First and most important the others were still alive and they were all here in this building. Second, Daniella had hired humans to do her dirty work and ultimately to take the fall. The guy that had come in here didn't appear to be the brains of the operation. If he wasn't the human's leader, then who was?

I'm not sure how long I lay there thinking. I thought of my friends wondering if they will be able to find and rescue us. I thought of the humans and if they will take the offer of working for us instead of Daniella. I thought about Jill and Victor and hoped that they got away and found a new hiding place.

I thought about the Strigoi network and if they had seen any part of the kidnapping. What about the Alchemists? They were doing a lot of spying for Abe. Did he also have them watching us, or Victor and Jill?

I was starting to get frustrated with the 'what ifs' and the 'I wonders'. I decided to go see Lissa. She should be awake by now. It had to be close to 6:00 here, so 7:00 back in Pennsylvania. I turned toward the wall in case anyone came in when I was gone into Lissa's head. I thought about Lissa, but nothing happened. I was still here in my own head. I closed my eyes and tried to relax my tense muscles. I tried again. Nothing. I must be too tense.

I need to relax more. I thought about Dimitri and the exercises he had taught me. Starting with my head I slowly concentrated on releasing the tension from each muscle until I reached my toes. My whole body was completely free of tension and I felt much calmer. I concentrated on Lissa and remembered the sound of her laugh, of her voice.

"Texas is a big state. How are we going to find them?" Lissa's voice was filled with distress.

"We are going to work together and pool our resources. We should probably ask Eddie and Mikhail if they are willing to help us. What do you two think?" Adrian asked as he paced around Lissa's room. I had never seen him this worked up.

"Mia is on her way over. I'll give Eddie a call. Lissa, do you want to call Mikhail and fill him in?" Christian handed Lissa her phone. She looked up at him and I could see that he hadn't slept much if at all last night. He looked awful.

Lissa took her phone and walked away from Christian as he made his call to Eddie. When they were both finished they reported that both guys were in and they were on their way to Lissa's room.

Adrian stopped pacing and looked at Lissa as she relayed her conversation with Eddie. "Hey Rose, glad you could join us." He exclaimed when Lissa was finished talking.

Lissa gasped. Some of the fear and sorrow she had been feeling dissipated. "Rose. I hope they are treating you okay. I am worried about you and I want you to hang in there. We are coming to get you out."

I really wished I could reply to her. I could feel all her emotions as if they were my own. I knew exactly how bad she felt for me. I really wanted to take some of that hurt away from her. Even though she had grown in her abilities and has become a much stronger person now then she was even a year ago, I still felt like I needed to protect her from all of this pain.

Christian came up to Lissa and put his hand on her shoulder. I could feel the way his touch gave her comfort. "Rose, we are going to work night and day to find you all and bring you home. If you have any contact with the others please tell Tasha that I love her and we are working on freeing you guys."

My heart was breaking for all the pain he was in. Actually Lissa's heart was the one that was breaking. I felt sorry for him too, just not the same way Lissa felt. After all He couldn't lose his Aunt, she was the only adult left in his life. It wouldn't be fair especially after the way he lost his parents at such a young age. Tasha was like his mother. Lissa knew exactly what that felt like and she didn't want Christian to go through that pain again.

The moment was cut short by a loud knock on the door. Lissa walked over and peered through the security peephole. She reached for the knob and pulled the door inward. Standing on the threshold was a winded Mikhail, a worried Eddie and Mia with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Mia pulled out her laptop and set it out on Lissa's desk, while Adrian filled the guys in on all the minute details.

"I am going to start searching for the street name that Rose saw outside her prison. You said she thinks she is in Texas right?" Mia asked when Adrian had finished.

"Yeah. Texas." Adrian confirmed. "I am glad you're here, we need to find them soon."

Adrian got a paper out of his designer jeans pocket. He walked across the room and put it on the desk next to Mia's laptop. "This is what Rose told me she could see."

"Okay give me a few minutes and I should be able to narrow it down to a few towns with a street with that name." Her fingers were already flying across the keyboard.

"While we wait for Mia to narrow the search, does anyone else have any ideas? Or next steps?" Christian threw out to the group.

"We need to think about how we are getting to Texas. Once we find out where they are...it would take too much time to drive there." Eddie added. "When we went to Vegas earlier this summer we rented a private plane that got us there really fast.

"That sounds like a good plan. I still have my credit cards and even one of my parent's cards we can use." Adrian offered.

Mikhail added. "We will need to rent a van or even two vans to get us all there and to get them all out of there."

Lissa moved to the top drawer of her desk. "We should start making a list so we don't forget anything. " She opened the notebook and started scribbling all the ideas flying around the room.

"Guys!" Mia yelled excitedly. "I think I found something."

Just then I felt myself slipping out of Lissa's head and returning to my own. No! Not now! I wanted to know what Mia found. I tried to hold on to my connection with Lissa, but it was no use. Someone was shaking me.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I was forcibly rolled from my side to my back. When I opened my eyes I was staring into the hard, cold eyes of a man. It wasn't the same man who I felt I had nearly bribed to help me get out of here, unfortunately. This man had a short military style haircut, no neck, and a very muscular chest. His features made him handsome, but the deep frown lines in his forehead, the hard set of his jaw and the steely coldness in his eyes made him fearsome.

"What?" I snapped at him. "I was having a good dream and you just interrupted it."

"Sorry princess." He snapped back at me. I shivered from his icy tone. "I obviously underestimated you and sent in one of my less capable men to handle you. I won't make that mistake again. Now you have to deal with me."

I would not let this man see that I was afraid. After all I had fought Strigoi who were far scarier and much stronger than he. "And? What's your point?" I asked putting as much indifference in my voice as I could.

"You're not going to like what I do to you if you don't answer my questions."

"You haven't asked me any." I retorted.

"I am just warning you to behave…or else." His words were delivered with a sneer.

Okay so I really was a little scared of this guy. He looked like the typical mercenary. He reminded me of the guy from that old movie Rambo. Maybe even scarier.

"Get up." Rambo commanded.

I just looked up at him and smiled. I didn't move.

"I said GET UP." With that he reached down and wrapped his strong fingers around my biceps. Even with my muscles his hands were so huge they encircled my arms. He pulled me off the bed. "I was going to be nice and question you in here, but now you asked for it. We are going to the pit"

The pit? I wasn't sure I really wanted to know what that entailed, but at least I could survey the layout of this place and get a sense of where the others were being kept.

He dragged me to the door and knocked twice. It was opened by the man that I had hoped to bribe . He was now relegated to door duty instead of interrogation duty. I made myself as much of a dead weight as I could.

"Come with me!" Rambo barked at the guard like it was his fault that he had to do work.

"Yessir." The guard barked out. It was obvious that he was more afraid of Rambo than I was.

I was being dragged down a nondescript hallway. It had institutional white walls and the same gray and white marbled linoleum on the floor. Damn! Carpet would have provided more friction for me to drag my feet against. I would just have to settle with being a dead weight.

I could see two guards sitting on chairs outside doors, just like at my door. I tried to glance behind me to get an idea where my room fit into the floor plan and if there were any other rooms beyond mine, but the other guard was walking directly behind me and blocked my view. I was manhandled into the elevator and the 'B' button was pushed.

Okay so we were headed for the basement. When the doors opened the space revealed ahead was dark. There were not any windows down here. Rambo flicked on the switch and the lights hummed their protest at being forced to work. They were fluorescent tubes hanging in old rusted housings. Half the bulbs were burnt out and most were dim and blinking. The faint buzzing combined with the lightshow was making me feel dizzy.

Rambo threw me on a table in the center of the room and quickly shackled my arms with metal cuffs that were oddly heavy. As he leaned over to grab the chains for my legs I readied my muscles and hauled off and kicked him in the face.

"AGH!" He screamed. "You are going to pay for that little Princess." He looked toward the other guard and ordered, "Help me lock her down. If that happens again she is not the only one who will pay for it."

The other guard flinched and his eyes were wide. Rambo didn't seem to notice, but I did. So he was very, very afraid of this man and controlled by fear, not by loyalty.

Rambo starting attaching wires to my body, my arms, hands, just under my shirt at the neckline, and my legs. "These wires are connected to this machine right here." He said as he affectionately patted the machine. "The way this is going to work is I will ask a question and if I don't like your answer I am going to give you a jolt." He smiled at me. "Then, I ask again. If I don't like your answer I increase the voltage and shock you again. Gettin' the idea Princess?"

I really wish he would stop calling me princess. All that made me think about was Lissa and how much I wanted to be back at the Royal Court with them with everything back to normal and my name cleared.

"I asked you a question." Rambo growled. I just stared at him blankly. He smiled and reached for the switch on the machine.

As the low voltage zinged through my body I was reminded of when Lissa and I were on the run from the Academy. We had just escaped from St. Vlads and we were making our way into town to get transportation out of Montana. We had come to a fence and I had instructed Lissa to climb between two wires while I had grabbed the top one and lifted it to make more room for her to slide through. It was electric and I received a shocking surprise. I squealed and let the wire go. Luckily Lissa had already made it through to the other side.

My attention napped back to the present as the shock ended and Rambo leaned over me with a vicious expression on his face.

"Do you understand?" He snarled at me. Spit flew from his mouth right above my face and landed on my cheeks, forehead and into my eyes.

I closed my eyes as soon as the spit hit them and immediately opened them again to give my captor a defiant look. I stayed quiet, refusing to answer even that question.

"This is going to get awfully painful for you Princess. It doesn't bother me any to crank up the juice a little more, but believe me when I say it is going to bother you. So I suggest you cooperate."

This went on for about an hour. Rambo asked why I was in Louisiana, who was the illegitimate Dragomir, was it a boy or a girl, who I was working for, who I was working with…etc. I didn't answer any of his questions and the voltage was getting cranked higher and higher at each refusal.

I was starting to blink in and out of consciousness. One time I awoke to hear Rambo and the other guard arguing.

"You are going to kill her and then Daniella will kill you and we won't get paid." The fearful guard said.

"I have tortured prisoners through two wars. I know what I am doing." Rambo let out an evil chuckle. "So why don't you shut up and do what you're told. Turn up the voltage."

The guard reached over and turned the dial. Rambo watched him carefully to make sure he did exactly as he was told. Then he hauled an arm back and hit him square in the jaw with a left hook. The momentum of the hit sent the guard stumbling backward several feet where he fell unconscious.

"That will teach you to listen to orders." Rambo yelled over to the lifeless guard.

He turned his eyes back to me. They were sparkling with cold evil. "Now little Princess. One more time. Who is the illegitimate Dragomir?"

I set my jaw and stared blankly at him once again. I didn't even let myself blink as the two of us matched wills in a staring contest, until Rambo reached behind him to the machine and hit the button.

I awoke, what I can only assume was several hours later, in my darkened room. I was alone and stiff. Just the thought of moving my body sent a shiver of terror through me. "Ouch." I groaned into the darkness. Every part of me was sore, but I was alive.

I carefully rolled over and looked around the room. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I made sure that I was actually alone. I had no idea what time it was but the fact that it was still dark outside gave me hope that Lissa was still awake. I got as comfortable as I could on my cot and closed my eyes. I thought longingly of my friends and my old life and slipped seamlessly into Lissa's head.

"Okay, we've got a private plane chartered that is going to take us to an airstrip about a mile from where they're being held. There will be a cargo van waiting for us there. We just need transport from here to the private airstrip about 30 miles from here." Adrian reported.

"I can handle getting us a car out of here." Mikhail offered.

Adrian looked at him and nodded. "Good. We leave in 30 minutes. Everyone get your gear packed. We'll meet in the courtyard."

As Mia, Eddie, and Mikhail started out the door to go pack, Adrian turned toward Lissa and Christian. "Okay, you two. See you in the…" He stammered on his next words. "Rose, glad you're back. We think we found where they are keeping you captive and we're on our way. Hang tight." He looked at Lissa with a smile on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was hiding the fact that he was very worried.

Lissa watched everyone leave her room and then closed the door and leaned against it her head hanging down. When she looked up I was surprised that Christian was still there. He crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped his arms around Lissa.

"Don't worry. We will get them out safely. We have a lot going for us. You and Adrian can use compulsion, I have my fire and Mia has water, and don't forget Eddie and Mikhail are trained as Guardians." He stepped back and looked at her. I was surprised to see how much warmth was in his icy blue eyes. "I have to go pack, but I will meet you back here and we can walk down to meet the others together."

Lissa nodded and they kissed goodbye. I could feel her uneasiness heighten as soon as the door shut behind him. Now that we were alone together she started talking out-loud to me. "Rose, I wanted to let you know that Jill has your stuff. She had expected to hear from you and didn't so she went to your hotel with her mom and they realized something bad happened. She took your phone and used it to call here and let us know, but Adrian already knew from dream walking."

Oh thank goodness. I am not sure Jill could survive under the torture they were using on me. I wonder how they caught us and missed Victor, Emily and Jill. They obviously had not done great surveillance before they took us, because I had been over at Victor's house a few hours before we were kidnapped. I guess I should thank Daniella for her poor choice in criminals. The only one who seemed to know what he was doing was Rambo.

Lissa was moving quickly around her room throwing items together on her bed. When she was satisfied with her choices she carefully stuffed them into her bag.

"Rose, I miss you and I want you back here with me. This really has been hard not having my best friend around for the last few weeks."

I wished I was there in my body so I could reassure Lissa that everything was going to work out and to give her a big hug. I even wished this wasn't a one way communication and promised myself that I would learn how to break my thoughts through into Lissa's mind one of these days.

Lissa was grabbing her coat out of the closet and I caught her reflection in the mirror that hung on the back of the door. She looked exhausted and worried. She had dark circles under her eyes and it made me wonder how long it had been since she visited the feeders.

"Okay Rose, we should be there by morning to get you out. If you can do anything to help us find you that would be great."

There was a soft knock at the door and when Lissa opened it Christian was there with his duffle bag slung over one shoulder. He looked cautiously around the room. "Who were you talking to?"

Lissa flushed with a moment of embarrassment. "Oh, I was talking to Rose."

Christian hugged her close and whispered in her ear. "You have no need to be embarrassed about talking to Rose, although you do look quite delicious when you blush." He kissed her cheek and then she turned her head to find his lips.

As the heat between them increased I decided to give them a few minutes of privacy and I slid back into my own mind. The sky was still dark here and I remembered that I never checked the clock while I was in Lissa's head. It had to be after midnight.

I rolled in my cot trying to get comfortable. I should just try to catch a few winks before they get here to rescue us. I think my body needs to recuperate after the shocking experience it had to endure.

Good thing we dhampirs heal faster than humans. I wonder if our captors knew that, or for that matter how much stronger we are compared with humans. Did Daniella share our secret with them or just let them operate as if we were human. If she didn't then we could have an advantage when our rescue party showed up.

The sound of a squeaky door broke into my thought reverie. I opened one eye a slit and could see someone walking in in the slice of light that shone in from the hall. As the figure strode across the room I could make out the guard standing in the open doorway.

"Close it!" The woman commanded.

The guard at the door jerked at the command and fumbled with the door as he tried to quickly close it. I remained quiet and pretended that I was asleep.

"No need to pretend Rose, I can hear your heart beat speeding up."

I opened my eyes to find Daniella Ivashkov standing over me.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Lady Ivashkov grabbed me by my hair and yanked me into a sitting position. It hurt like hell, but I refused to make a sound. She would take pleasure from my pain and I wasn't about to give her any amount of pleasure.

"Tell me Rose. Where is the missing Dragomir child?" Daniella seethed at me.

I said nothing and she glared at me furiously. The venom in her eyes was startling. This was definitely not the woman I ate dinner with a few months ago. It was like night and day evil Daniella and nice motherly Lady Ivashkov. She reached out and slapped my face. My head snapped to the side with the impact, but again I didn't even grunt in pain.

"Guard!" She yelled at the closed door. The door snapped open and then guard came running in. "Take her to the Pit."

The guard grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. I immediately started pounding on his back and managed to swing my legs and kick him in the family jewels. He grunted and nearly doubled in pain, but Daniella gave him a shove ordering him to keep going.

For the second time in several hours I was brought down to the Pit. It smelled of mildew, sweat and blood. I was thrown down onto the table and before my arms could be tied down I clocked the guard in the face. Blood streamed from his nose.

Daniella hit a button and a two way radio cackled to life. "Get me a stronger guard down here! Better make that two guards."

The next thing I knew I couldn't breathe. I was so stunned with the fact that I didn't notice Daniella fastening the heavy cuffs on my wrists and ankles. Suddenly the weight lifted from my lungs and I sucked in a huge breath and then started coughing.

Great! Daniella is a flippin' air user. My memory flashed to Lissa's kidnapping. I had gone into her head when she was being tortured by Victor's friend Kenneth. I felt the torture that Lissa was going through firsthand. I seriously did not want to do that again.

I was gasping for air and trying not to cough. The flickering lights and the smell of the Pit along with my oxygen deprivation were playing tricks with my vision. I had dark sparkles starting on the edge of my vision and working their way toward the center.

I looked to Daniella with my tunnel vision. "What's going on?"

"I drugged you, Rose, with a truth serum. I will just give you a few minutes to let that get into your system and then you and I are going to have a little chat." She smiled a wicked smile and patted my arm.

I tried to jerk away from her, but the chains and cuffs didn't allow for much movement. What was I going to do? I couldn't tell her anything that could hurt Lissa and the others who were on their way to rescue us. Not to mention Victor, Jill and Emily. I wanted so bad to jump into Lissa's head, but I didn't dare. What if she asked a question while I was gone and I somehow answered her. Or what if I told her that my rescue team was on the way and she moved us all?

I lay on the table trying to gather my thoughts into a plan. How could I stop myself if she drugged me? Does this drug actually work on Dhampirs? Duh! Obviously or you wouldn't have tunnel vision. My running dialogue in my head was interrupted when Daniella leaned over and grabbed my face in her hands. She pried first one eye and then the other open and shined a bright pen light into them.

"We're ready." She announced smugly. "Let me show you how it's done boys."

"Rose?" She asked sweetly.

"Yes." I answered just as sugary sweet.

""What states have you been in?" She asked.

I didn't want to tell her for fear that I would be putting Jill in danger. How could I get out of saying which states I had been in? Wait…Wow! that was really a dumb question now that I think about it. She didn't specify a time and I have been in a lot of states. When Lissa and I ran away from the academy we traveled all over the US to get away and hide. This last week alone I have been in a half dozen. I paused to think about how to word this, so as to not be a smart ass and look like I was answering her truthfully.

"Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, Idaho, and Louisiana" When I finished speaking she smiled triumphantly at the guards. "…oh and Washington and Alaska too." I added. When she heard that her smile faded and her lips turned into a grimace.

"You know you're not so pretty when you do that with your mouth." I said innocently.

She backhanded me across my mouth. The blow caused my teeth to bite into my lip and I tasted the blood in my mouth. I ran my tongue over the inside of my lip and felt the gash. That was going to be a fat lip tomorrow.

"Let's try this again. In the last week what states have you been in?" She demanded.

I thought for a minute or two and then responded. "Well first I was scared, then confused, then very, very happy, and-"

"DAMN YOU!" She screamed as her fist connected with my eye.

"Maybe you should ask her a different question." The guard that I tried to bribe suggested.

"I don't need your help." She growled at him. Turning back to face me she asked. "Tell me who the illegitimate Dragomir is."

This was an easy one to answer, because I really didn't know who it was. I mean I suspect that it is Jill, but I don't have proof that it is Jill, or it could be Adrian, or it could be someone I don't even know. So I answered truthfully staring her right in the eye with my one good eye. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" She pressed.

"I mean just what I said. I don't know who the illegitimate Dragomir is."

"Who is helping you?"

"Well for one thing I can truthfully say…you are not helping, definitely not." I giggled at her. "Nope, you are not, not one bit."

"What is wrong with her?" One of the new guards asked.

"I don't know. This should not be happening. She should be clear headed and just answer truthfully." Daniella explained with frustration in her voice.

"My friends. They help me. I love my friends. Friends are good." My words were starting to slur together. My head felt like clouds were rolling in and blocking out the sun.

"She must be having a reaction to the drug. Take her upstairs. She is useless to me like this." Daniella stormed away.

The next thing I knew the guards had unlocked my shackles and they were carrying me back to my room. We exited the elevator and hadn't made it far into the hallway filled with guards. My plan worked. They thought I was totally out of it. I broke free from the guard that had my feet, kicked him where it counts, and made myself a dead weight forcing the guard holding my shoulders to drop them.

I bounced to my feet and barreled down the hall to the other prisoner rooms. I elbowed the guard, outside the first door, in the nose and he bent over in pain. Now that had to hurt!

I barged in to the room to find Peter lying on the cot. He jumped at my entrance and summed up the situation fairly quickly. He grabbed my arm and the two of us ran out into the hall to free as many of the others as we could. The guard that I had elbowed was covered in blood, but he hadn't moved and wasn't making any move to stop us. The next guard started toward us as we ran on to the next room. Peter engaged the guards while I shoved open the door to the next prison.

I was shocked to see my mother in front of me in a fighting stance. Luckily she had waited to see who was coming through the door before she struck, or I could have been knocked out, or worse, killed. Believe me I had been on the receiving end of a hit from my mother before and that is when she knew who I was. I wouldn't want to see the blow she delivered to her enemy.

"Rose honey, are you okay?" the concern that filled her eyes caused an ache in my heart. I wanted nothing more that to fall into her arms and get a great big hug right now.

"No time to talk Mom, c'mon!" I shouted at her as I ran out to find the next room.

Luckily Peter had already dispensed the guard at my mother's door and had moved on to the next one. My mother joined his fight as a guard from across the hall joined in. I took advantage of the distraction and opened the next door to find Tasha.

"Get out here we could use your fire!"

Tasha ran out of her prison with a hopeful gleam in her eye. She was looking for Arthur. I recognized her dismay as she saw that he wasn't among the freed fighting in the hallway.

"Check that room." I pointed to the one that was across the hall from Tasha's.

As Tasha went in I moved on to the next in the line. My mother was already entangled with the guard. As I brushed past, he kicked out and swept my legs from under me. I wasn't expecting that and couldn't stop my momentum in time. I slammed down onto the tile face first. I luckily got my arms up quick enough to protect my face from hitting the floor.

Someone grabbed me from behind and lifted me up. I turned to fight them, but before I sent a blow to their head I realized it was Peter. He pushed me forward toward the next room. When the door flew open Abe was ready. He must have heard the commotion in the hall. I turned quickly to survey the scene behind me. All the guards had been taken down and all the doors opened, but where was Dimitri?

I frantically looked around seeing my mother and father, Tasha and Arthur and Peter. I surveyed the bodies of the knocked out guards around the floor. None were Dimitri.

"Where is Dimitri?" I asked the others as a terrible aching pain started low in my heart.

The others all looked around. Bewildered looks filled the faces of my friends and loved ones in the crowded hall.

"Who opened that door?" Peter asked pointing at a door across from Abe's prison room.

Shrugs and blank faces were the only answer. Suddenly it dawned on me what was going on.

"I don't see Daniella or Rambo out here, so they must have him in the Pit." I offered hopefully. That had to be the answer. Please, please let that be the answer.

We all turned as one and headed toward the elevator. That alone told me that I wasn't the only one who was tortured in the Pit today. Well our little captors had been busy, hadn't they?

"If we take the elevator down then we won't have the element of surprise. They could kill Dimitri before we even step out of the elevator." Abe quietly told the group.

"What do you suggest then?" my mother asked.

"Stairs. Anyone see them?"

We all started searching for the door marked stairs, an exit sign, something. Of course it couldn't be that easy. My heart was hammering in my chest and panic started to take over my senses. I jogged down the hall looking for the door to the stairs. The others took my cue and we split up at the lobby where two hallways went in opposite directions.

I was beginning to think this place had no stairs, when the third door I tried revealed a storage closet with what looked like a door on the far end of the darkened space. A small window in the steel door revealed a faint glow from beyond. I whistled low to Tasha and Peter who moved to cover me as I went through the room toward the door. I carefully approached from the side and sliding against the wall carefully peered through the window. Bingo! The faint light was coming from the stairwell. There was at least one flight above and one flight below.

I made my way back to the hall outside the storage closet and whistled the signal that I had found the stairs. It only took a few seconds for my mother, father and Arthur to come to our location.

"We didn't find anything that way and were coming to help you when we heard the whistle. What'd you find?" Abe asked curiously looking around at the storage closet.

Peter was standing in front of the door blocking the faint light from Abe's view. He stepped aside and Abe gave a nod when he realized that we'd found the stairs. Abe reached out and closed the door from the storage closet to the hall.

"Peter guard this door and don't let anyone come in this room." After that we moved to the opposite door in a silent group. "When we get downstairs I want someone guarding the door to the stairs. Rose, I don't suppose you would be willing to stay and watch the door while the rest of us-"

"No." I hissed at him. "Dimitri is down there and I will not stay guarding a door, while you all put yourselves in danger rescuing him. I am going. End of story, old man."

"I figured you'd say that. Let's just get down there and see what we're facing. No one makes a move until we assess the situation."

We moved silently down the stairs. At the bottom there was another steel door with a window. We were quite a ways from the torture table and veritably in the dark from the missing or broken fluorescent lights in this part of the basement. This gave us the advantage to gather and look through the window all at once.

My father, always used to being the one in charge started breaking the group into pairs with Arthur guarding the door to the stairs. That left Tasha and my mother and Abe and I to circle to either side of the pit to approach from opposite sides.

'This might just work' I thought to myself as we silently turned the knob and eased the door open gently. All we'd need is for a hinge to squeek and give us away at this point. We carefully walked across the dimly lit floor. I hoped for all our sakes that nobody tripped, or kicked anything that might be littered on the floor. I no sooner thought that when Tasha, who was a few feet from me, kicked something metal that rolled away from her foot with a tinkling sound.

Just then Dimitri started moaning and screaming with pain. Daniella looked confused, because she hadn't actually been shocking him or beating him at that moment. It was then that I knew Dimitri sensed us near and he was trying to cover our entrance with his moans.

"Good. Guardian you are finally weakening. Guard turn it up a notch. I think Mr. Belikov is ready to play." Daniella sneered with evil joy.

I winced as I heard the electricity humming, building the charge, for the next torturous blast to Dimitri's body. I quickened my pace. I just had to stop her from inflicting that on Dimitri.

Glancing up I saw that my father had matched my quickened pace and we were still on target to arrive at the same time. Just as we were about to pounce the guard with Daniella looked up and caught sight of us coming toward him. I pounced before he had the chance to warn Daniella. I was struggling with Rambo. The element of surprise had allowed me to deliver a hard blow to his left eye, but now he was blocking all my attempts.

I saw Daniella out of the corner of my eye reaching over to hit the button that would deliver the electricity into the nodes attached to Dimitri's body.

"No!" I screamed. No sooner had the words left my tongue as a flash of fire flew across the room and hit Daniella's hand. She pulled her hand back reflexively and cradled it near her chest. This was all the distraction my mother needed to advance on Daniella. She dove across the table and took her down to the floor.

Abe started to undo the shackles that bound Dimitri's wrist and ankle on his side of the torture table. Tasha had come around to help me fight off Rambo, who used my momentary distraction to show me a nice layout of the constellations.

"Like I need any more bruises from you!" I shouted as I landed a roundhouse kick on the side of his head.

Rambo reached out to grab my leg and Tasha hit him with a fire bolt that he wasn't expecting. I took the opening to land a kick to his solar plexus. He stumbled back a few feet and hit the cement wall. There were several instruments of torture that teetered on their hooks and threatened to come down on Rambo's head. He regained his footing and came charging back at Tasha and I who were now standing side by side, waiting to thwart his next attempt.

Suddenly I felt Dimitri standing next to me. I didn't have to look to know it was him. I could feel the pull on my heart as if it needed to match the rhythm of Dimitri's to be complete. I gave him a sideways glance and saw that he was looking at me with a big smile on his face.

"What took you so long, Roza?" He chided.

"I could say the same to you Comrade."

"Oh enough! You two make me sick!" Daniella shouted.

My mother used that opportunity to deliver a blow to the back of Daniella's head that knocked her out cold. When Rambo saw Daniella go down he put his hands up and surrendered to us.

"If boss lady is out, then I give up. I ain't losin' my life for what she's payin'. And as long as she's out she won't know that I surrendered." Rambo conceded.

Abe pointed at the table and we lifted Rambo onto it and fastened the cuffs to his wrists and ankles.

"I doubt Daniella will be around to let you out, so I'll make sure to give the keys to one of your men upstairs." I barked at Rambo, "Which, by the way, is way more than you deserve."

Arthur came forward and helped Abe carry the unconscious Daniella back upstairs. We started back toward the door to the stairs and Tasha held the door for the men. Peter whistled the all clear sign and we slowly went up the stairs. When we caught sight of Peter he smiled at our triumph. He gave us the all clear sign and held the door as we worked our way out of the storage closet and into the hall.

As we made our way toward the main lobby we could hear the grunts and shuffles of the guards that we had beaten earlier. Their low murmurs let us know that they were indeed conscious and moving around. Now the question was would they try to stop us?

Peter pointed to a room off to the side of the hallway we were in. The door opened into a conference room lined with windows. We all ducked inside just as the guards made their way into the lobby and down toward the room we were seeking shelter in.

I held my breath as their footsteps rushed past. Not one man slowing to check any of the rooms in the hall. They were heading for the storage room and the stairs to The Pit. I slowly let out my breath and looked around to my compatriots to see what the next step would be. A blur outside the window caught my attention.

No, No, No. Don't tell me there are more guards outside. How are we ever getting out of this place? Where the hell were Adrian and Lissa and the rest of the gang? My heart started pounding with my rising panic. A warm hand on my arm broke me out of my internal reverie. I looked down at the large tapered fingers sliding over my bicep, offering comfort.

We had been so busy escaping and hiding I forgot that I hadn't said hello to Dimitri yet. I looked up from his hand to stare into his beautiful eyes. "I thought I'd lost you. Again."

"I thought we'd already covered this. You are never getting rid of me that easy." He leaned down and covered my lips with his. I could taste the salt on his skin from the recent torture and electric shock he'd also endured. It stung my lip where Daniella had split it with her powerful slap. I winced and pulled back. Dimitri quickly lifted his arm to bring it to my cheek to sooth my pain and he too winced. I noticed a long gash that ran down the side of his forearm.

"We sure are a pair, aren't we?" I laughed pulling his lips toward mine once again.

A knock on the window interrupted our reunion kiss almost as soon as it began.

"Hey! Save it you two. Can't you wait until we rescue you and make sure you are truly safe?" Christian teased from the other side of the glass. "I think this is the easiest way to get you out. Take cover, while I break the glass."

We tipped the conference table over and huddled behind it while something slammed against the thick glass.

"Use your fire to heat it up Christian and the glass will weaken." Tasha instructed him.

"Then have Mia throw some cold water on it and it will shatter." Who said I didn't pay attention in science class?

We didn't hear any response from our rescuers. I got on my knees and carefully peered over the top of the tipped table. Where did they go? "Hey, where did they go? Did they find an easier way to get in?" I mumbled in confusion. "Do you guys see them?"

Abe looked out and said, "Yeah over there toward the right there's a fountain. They are all gathered around it."

As we all silently watched the group standing by the fountain we saw Mia and Christian having a discussion and pointing at the water. Adrian wandered away from the group and disappeared into the shadows. When he reappeared he was carrying a bucket…with a tree in it? No it was a planter. He brought it to the group by the fountain and after a minute he carefully took out the tree and placed it on the ground next to the fountain. He put the bucket in the fountain and filled it up with water and Eddie and Mikail worked together to bring it closer to the window.

The group all moved back at that point. Christian took the front position and started to throw streams of fire onto one spot on the window. We all sat back and took cover behind the table. I really wanted to watch Christian doing his thing to break us out, but I knew it wasn't safe. I sat back and grabbed Dimitri's hand in mine. He wrapped his fingers with mine and gave a gentle squeeze. I brought our joined hands to my lips and kissed his knuckles.

Dimitri let out a contented sigh and slowly inclined his head toward mine. I thought he was going to kiss me and I started to incline my lips toward his, but instead he gently placed his forehead against mine. His eyes were so close I could barely focus on them. "I love you. You don't know how crazy I was going in there not knowing if you were safe, or if you were even here with me."

"I do know. I know exactly because I was going crazy with worry about you too. I love you." A tear snuck out of my eye and rolled down my cheek. Dimitri reached up and wiped away the traitor with a swipe of his thumb. He preserved my dignity by not mentioning the traitorous tear. For that I loved him all the more.

The glowing orange and blue light that was coming from Christian's fire went out. Then there came the sound of water being thrown against the glass. With a groan the window shattered into the room, spraying glass shards no bigger than a penny around the room. The table did its job deflected them from us and we rose to make our way across the now crunchy floor. I stopped dead. I didn't have any shoes. There was no way I could cross this floor without destroying my feet on the glass.

I quickly surmised that I was the only unlucky prisoner who didn't have shoes. "Uh, I need a little help getting out."

Dimitri turned and looked back at me with a quizzical look. I pointed down at me feet. He spun in place and marched back to me. In one fluid motion he had me cradled in his arms and marching out the makeshift door.

Lissa was waiting to greet us a few feet away from the building. Dimitri immediately put me down onto the grass and Lissa and I ran into each other's arms.

"I missed you so much Liss."

"Me too Rose."

We rocked in each other's arms afraid that if we let go it would turn out to be unreal. As long as we held one another we could prove that we were really, finally back together. A piece of my heart suddenly clicked in to place and I felt better than I had in weeks. Having Dimitri in my life made me happy, but to be truly complete I needed Lissa there too.

Peter and Arthur had carried Daniella out of the building and placed her on the grass while we found out the next step from Adrian.

"Okay, we have a van parked over there." He pointed to a darker part of the parking lot where a navy blue commercial vehicle sat waiting. "Then we have a small jet waiting for us about ½ mile from here. That will take us to a private airstrip in Pennsylvania."

"We can't go back to the Royal Court. We haven't finished proving Rose is innocent yet. She'll be taken into custody and executed." My mother argued angrily.

"We got the janitor to sign an affidavit that proves Daniella paid him to lie about the time Adrian arrived at Rose's that night." Mia supplied my mother, hoping to sooth her anger.

"No offense guys, but I agree with my mother. I still don't think that is enough." I offered in my mother's defense.

Lissa actually looked at me like she didn't know who I was. "What are you talking about Rose? We have Daniella too." She gestured toward where Peter and Arthur had laid her on the grass, but she wasn't there.

"Where did she go?" I screamed toward the two guardians. At their shrugs and confusion I added, "Weren't you watching her?"

"She was unconscious." Peter offered lamely.

We were all looking around for Daniella, when Lissa screamed. We looked up to see Daniella holding her with a knife to her throat. "Finally I have a shot at the last Dragomir. She should have died with the rest of her family in that car accident years ago."


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The world seemed to move in slow motion. Daniella was walking backwards toward the broken window dragging an unwilling Lissa along with her. I could see the knife pressing into the flesh of her throat. My stomach clenched at the sight of my best friend in the whole world trapped in the arms of that venomous witch.

No one knew what to do. I looked around to see the indecision and fear that I felt mirrored on my friend's faces. I looked to Christian and the pain and anguish I saw in his eyes made me want to scream. What had any of us done to deserve this?

"Daniella, no one is coming after you. Please think about what you are doing." Tasha's words were soothing, but I could see that they had absolutely no effect on the mad woman in front of us.

Terror filled Lissa's eyes as Daniella continued to walk methodically backwards. They were only a few feet from the safety of the building and Daniella's army of guards. She had hired them for kidnapping and torture. I could only hope that they would draw the line at murder.

Daniella was dragging her through the broken window, while in the hall the sounds of marching men got closer. They must have finished searching the basement and were coming back in search of their leader.

Rambo burst through the door and caught sight of Daniella entering the room through the glass. I could feel everyone around me tense with fear at what was going to happen now that the mercenaries' had joined the fight. I saw Rambo glance over Daniella's shoulder and catch my eye. He winked at me. Wait winked?

I glanced around, but I was pretty sure I was the only one who saw the signal. I didn't want to think about what that wink meant. Rambo held his fist in the air and all the men behind him stopped and waited for their next command.

"Okay men file out. Our job is finished here." Rambo ordered and then spun on his heel and walked back into the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Daniella screamed. "Get back here, you are not finished! This job is not finished."

None of the men slowed their exit from the room and the last one out actually closed the door. Daniella was distracted by the mass exodus and Adrian used the opportunity to move closer to his mother.

She looked back toward our group and was surprised to see Adrian standing before her. "Son, what are you doing here?"

"Well, mom, I came here to free my friends from their imprisonment." He spoke with such calmness and confidence that it surprised me. "Actually I guess you are the reason we found them. You used your credit card to rent this place and to charter your private jet. All I had to do was call the company and they gave me all the information I needed to find my friends."

"Good. Now that you are here you can help me." She actually had a smile on her face when she said that. What a loon. She was absolutely mad.

"No mom. That is not how this is going to work. Listen to me carefully. Drop the knife and let Lissa go. Then you and I will go back to the Royal Court together. Just you and me." He continued walking slowly toward her as he spoke.

She looked about wildly. "No Adrian, you don't understand. I can't let her live. She will destroy us and everything we know. She will destroy the Royal Court."

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Adrian asked incredulously.

"You don't know. Only I know - and I shared the information with my followers. It was prophesied that the Dragomirs would destroy us all. Trust me. I am doing us all a favor by ridding the world of this trash."

"Prophesied? By whom? When?" Adrian said each word methodically and paused after each question in emphasis.

"I went to get a reading from Rhonda when I was in my early twenties. She told me that the man I loved would one day betray me and it would mean my death. This man and his family would bring great change to the Royal Court."

"That's it? That reading spurred you into drastic action? Mom she's a tarot card reader, not God." Adrian was so worked up he was practically spitting at her.

"I was dating two men and very interested in both of them. I went to see Rhonda to help me decide who I should make my life with. What I found out that day changed everything about my life. Luckily I found out most of my reading before the fire alarm cleared the building." Daniella calmly told her story like it should justify every action she had taken in the last few months.

"You never finished your reading? All this is from a half of a reading?" Adrian's face was turning red as his voice got louder and higher in disbelief.

"That was enough. Betrayal leading to my death and the end of the Royal Court as we know it! I knew at that moment that I had to take care of Eric, but I didn't have the maturity and intelligence to lead a resistance group at that time. My only regret is that I didn't finish him off myself when we were younger. After I got the resistance group together he had a family that we needed to take of too. But that car accident was supposed to take care of our problem. Now I find that not only do I have to get rid of Princess Lissa here, but I also need to find and take care of the illegitimate child." Daniella spoke her evil diatribe like a grocery list. She was completely insane.

I was very glad at that moment that Adrian, Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Mia and Mikhail didn't know who we suspected that the illegitimate Dragomir was. They at least had a modicum of protection from that lack of knowledge.

"Mom your army has left and you are alone. I think you need to let Lissa go so that you and I can go back to the Royal Court together. I love you and I don't want you to get hurt. Please let her go so you and I can leave together." Adrian was convincing in his request. I could only hope that his begging would work.

"No son this ends here. I need to finish her off. It's for everyone's protection." She rationally explained.

"Mom I am afraid. If you harm Lissa then the rest of these people will harm you. You won't be able to find the last Dragomir and take care of them. Then I won't be protected. You'll let me down. If you just let her go then we can leave together, just you and me. Mom I love you. Please listen to me."

Daniella stared at her son with wide eyes. She was obviously torn by her son's words and pleadings. She has been driven by this mission for over twenty years and now he was asking her to stop. I could see the indecision in her face. I only hoped she would pick Adrian over revenge, for all of our sakes.

"Sorry Adrian. I do love you, but I must do my duty and take care of this problem myself. I trusted in my followers to take care of the whole family in that car accident and look what happened. Now I must make sure I end her life tonight."

"Okay I understand. Could you do me one favor though. I need a hug from my mother. Can you give me a hug before we go?" Adrian was great at compulsion, but I got the sense that he was doing it better than he had ever done it before. "Let me just come closer and have you hold me in your arms. Just let the knife down so that you can hug me."

Daniella's rigid arms started to go slack. She was staring right into Adrian's eyes and her face was filled with compassion. I couldn't believe it was working. She slowly lowered her arms while Adrian continued to compel her into letting Lissa go.

Gradually Lissa slipped out of her grasp. As soon as she was free Lissa ran into Christian's arms and started crying. I didn't move. I just watched the interaction between Daniella and Adrian.

Daniella was still had a death grip on the knife. Adrian was walking toward her with his arms out to his sides keeping up the appearance that he was coming to her for a hug from his mother. "Mommy I want a big hug from you. I am coming to you for comfort. I love you." Adrian whispered continuously to her as he moved ever closer.

Surprisingly Daniella was mesmerized by her son. He had completely enthralled this madwoman into releasing her prisoner and allowing him to move closer to her. One step more and he would be in her arms.

As Adrian wrapped his arms around his mother he tried to remove the knife from her hand. As soon as he touched the knife the compulsion was broken. The look of fierce determination returned to her face and she lifted the arm with the knife.

"Adrian watch out!" I screamed when it appeared Daniella was going to stab her own son.

He reacted immediately and jumped out of her embrace and grabbed for her hand with both of his. "No mom!" he screamed. "It's me Adrian. Let go of the knife."

"No one will stop this, not even my son." She growled at him.

The two wrestled for control of the knife. Sadly they were about evenly matched in strength. Adrian had lived such a privileged life that he had never built up any strength or fighting skills. Afraid of him getting hurt I started around the group to come at her from behind. I looked up to see that Dimitri had the same idea as me and he was walking the opposite direction. Maybe if we could knock her out, we could subdue her and bring her back to the Royal Court for prosecution.

Adrian kept up the struggle with his mother for control of the knife and the others in our group moved around nervously in Daniella's field of vision. All of this kept her distracted long enough that Dimitri was able to deliver a blow to the back of her head that rendered her immediately unconscious.

My mother and father came over and gave me a big hug. Dimitri put his arm around my side and the two of us went over to where Christian was calming Lissa. Adrian was crouched over his mother holding a silent vigil.

"Peter, Arthur can you find something to bind Daniella with please." Abe called out to where they stood watching us all hugging. Tasha had moved from their side to go comfort Christian.

We tied her arms and legs with rope that the guys found among the guards leftover supplies. We piled into the van and Adrian drove us to the airstrip. We were all subdued having come down from the adrenaline rush of our escape.

"Does anyone have a phone I can use? I need to make an important call." I asked of our rescuers.

"Yes and I need to make a few myself." Abe added "How about you Dimitri?"

"I can wait until Rose is done." Dimitri declined the offered phone from Mikhail and nodded to me.

"Thanks Mikhail." I took his phone and dialed my cell. I hoped that Jill still had it and that it still held a charge. When Jill answered I was so relieved.

"Hello?" Jill's voice was music to my ears.

"Hey! It's me. We are safe. We are in a van with Lissa, Christian, Mia, Adrian, Eddie and Mikhail. I just wanted to check on you guys. Nothing happened after we were taken did it?"

"No nothing bad it's just that Victor has made a decision. He said we need to go back to the Royal Court. He is sending the guardians with us to keep us safe. He said he cannot go back with us, but everything will be fine."

"Can you put him on the line please?"

"Yeah. I just have to go get him. Hold on." The phone was muffled, but I thought I heard footsteps and a conversation. Suddenly Victor's voice was on the line.

"Rosemarie. How are you all? Safe I hope." Victor asked with genuine concern. "Jill has told me that you are not alone, so I understand if you want to talk cryptically.

"I am not sure the girls will be truly protected there. Are you sure it is a good idea?"

"I understand your concerns they are the same as Emily's. That is why I am sending all the guardians back with them. The plane will leave in about an hour and they will fly directly into the Royal Court airstrip."

"It sounds safe enough. I guess. Unbelievably we are headed to Pennsylvania also. Though I don't think the plan is for our little group to go back to the Royal Court quite yet." I looked around the darkened van at my friends. Most had their eyes closed or were talking quietly to one another. Then I realized that Daniella was staring right at me.

"Okay. Sounds good. I need to pass the phone on now to others who need to use it. I will catch up with you later. Take care." I rushed off hoping that I didn't give too much away to the others, especially Lissa.

I passed the phone over to Dimitri who needed to call the Strigoi network to check in for updates. I put Mikhail's phone into Dimitri's palm. I started to pull back, but Dimitri closed his larger hand around mine in a gentle squeeze. I looked up into his smiling face which was illuminated for a split second from the headlights of an oncoming car. He was trying to convey that he understood the conversation I just had with Victor.

He let my hand slip from his grasp and he sat back with the cell phone. His conversation was quick and muted. He closed the phone and thanking Mikhail returned it to him.

I could hear my father in the front using Adrian's phone. His call was also quiet and I couldn't glean any details from his end of the conversation. When his call was over he returned the cell to Adrian and glanced back at the rest of us. Looking toward Abe in the front I could tell by the look on his face that he had found out something important, but now was not the time or the place share.

We arrived at the airstrip and the guys took Daniella out of the back of the van and we all started for the small plane on the runway. The pilot was standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for us to board. He did a double take when he saw the guys carrying Daniella with her hands and feet tied. To his credit he didn't say a word.

A few minutes later we were buckled in and rolling down the runway headed back to Pennsylvania. Abe had instructed Daniella to be buckled in the front row with Peter standing guard. He and my mother took the back row with Dimitri and I and the others were scattered in the many rows in between. I hoped that before long we could all share the information we had learned from our phone calls.

We settled back in our chairs for the take off. Dimitri reached over to take my hand in his. He lifted it to his soft lips to place a gentle kiss on my knuckles. I looked into his eyes as the plane left the runway. I felt a fire down low in my belly as I thought of some of my recent flights in Abe's private jet. My thoughts turned steamy and I leaned toward Dimitri to taste his sensuous lips.

He was obviously having some of the same thoughts I was as he leaned to meet me half way for that kiss. He moaned softly as our lips met and I explored his mouth with my tongue. Dimitri's tongue met mine and I melted. I couldn't get enough of Dimitri.

"Eh Hmm." My mother cleared her throat.

I opened my eyes and realized that I had my hands buried in Dimitri's hair and he had one of his hands sliding under my shirt and the other sliding down my back. We looked at each other and pulled back from the kiss giggling.

"Oops. Sorry mom." I said sheepishly.

"It won't happen again." Dimitri added.

We both sat back in our own seats. It was very difficult not touching each other and it was very easy to get carried away when we did touch. Dimitri settled with my head resting on his shoulder. I closed my eyes to enjoy being this close to Dimitri. I felt comforted by his masculine scent and the heat of his body radiating through my cheek.

"You are now free to move about the cabin. Please keep your seatbelts fastened when you are sitting in your seats. We should be landing in approximately one hour." The captain reported through the plane PA system.

My parents indicated for Dimitri and me to undo our seatbelts and follow them to the back of the plane where a storage closet and a bathroom were located.

"What did you find out?" my father asked me. "From your end of the conversation Victor and the girls are going to the Royal Court."

"No just the girls. Victor is staying behind, but he is sending all of the guardians. What did you find out Dimitri?"

"My network has seen more Moroi leaving the Royal Court than usual. I am not sure what that means, but they couldn't give me anything more."

"Well I found out some very interesting news about our illegitimate friends." Abe moved in closer to whisper. We all crowded together so that we could hear the news. "Well it turns out that Jill's father is-"

"What are you guys doing? Lissa interrupted.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"Oh, ah…we were just discussing what to do with Daniella when we land." Abe lied effortlessly.

Lissa looked at him for a few seconds and then nodded her head. She believed him. I was glad he took the wheel, because Lissa knew me too well and I am not sure she would believe my lies.

"So what are we going to do with her?" Lissa pressed.

"We cannot go back to the Royal Court." Abe motioned to include everyone in that statement except Lissa. "We need to get hotel rooms and plan our strategy for return. If we go back there now, we will all be arrested. We need you, Adrian, Eddie, Christian, Mia and Mikhail to go back and pave the way for our return."

"I think we should hold on to Daniella as an insurance policy as well. We are not sure how deep her secret group runs or which officials they have in their pockets." I added.

"We'll rent two cars and a few hotel rooms when we land. Then we'll gather everyone together to come up with the best game plan." Abe proposed.

"That sounds like a good plan. I was wondering if I could speak to you alone Rose?" Lissa looked at me with a hopeful expression.

"Sure Lis, um... are you guys done? I don't mean to kick you out, but this seems to be the only private area on the plane." I explained apologetically.

"No, by all means you two stay here. We were done anyway." My mom said soothingly as she reached out and stroked down Lissa's and my arms in a gesture of comfort.

"Thanks Mom." I smiled gratefully at her, glad that we were working out our differences. She had definitely been a source of strength for me these last few weeks.

The others moved quietly away to find their seats and give Lissa and me the privacy that we needed for this conversation. I knew what she wanted to talk about, Daniella's comment about the illegitimate Dragomir. We had successfully protected Lissa from that, until now.

I turned to face her. "So what's up Lis?"

"Rose, is what Daniella said true? Do I have a sister or brother out there somewhere?" Her face was a masque of confusion. I could feel her fear and her hope radiating through our bond.

"Lis." I said as I pulled her into a hug. I whispered quietly, my mouth right next to her ear. "You do have a sibling. I am not completely sure their identity, but I have a feeling we are going to find out sooner than you think who it is."

She pulled back from me and I could see the anger that I could feel through the bond mirrored on her face. "You knew. You knew and you didn't tell me." She spat at me. "How could you."

I grasped her hands in mine to offer comfort and to keep her in place so that I had a chance to explain. "We weren't sure and I didn't want to tell you until I was sure. It is no small thing to accuse your dad, whom you love and respect. I wasn't about to do that until I had concrete proof. I am sorry if you feel hurt that I didn't tell you, but what if I did tell you and we found out that it wasn't true?"

"I don't know Rose. I am just stunned right now. I don't know how to feel." A single tear belied her words and streamed down her porcelain cheek.

I reached up and wiped her tear away. "I know this is hard for you so just remember that I love you and I would never hurt you. I only did what I thought was best for you."

"I know." She wrapped me into a hug and squeezed tight. "I love you too."

We stayed holding each other for a long time. I felt as close to Lissa as I did when we had run away from the academy and we were everything to each other. It had been forever since she felt this way. The last year has been so complicated. So many things had changed and so many people had come into their lives.

"Hey I wanted to talk to you about Adrian. He looks fine, which worries me. He just saved me from his crazy mother and honestly that has to be affecting him, but if it is he is hiding it."

"He probably is blocking everything out and it will hit him when he's back at his room alone." I concluded based on just about everything I knew about Adrian. And considering that I had dated him for a few months, I think I knew him better than just about anyone.

"That is what I'm afraid of. After you left he locked himself in his room and drank for weeks straight. He had just started to pull out of it when we spied on the secret meeting and found out the faction was led by his mother." Lissa had been there to pick up the pieces after Rose left in search of Strigoi Dimitri and when she had broken out of jail.

"Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone. I didn't mean to break up with him that way and really it wasn't fair to you to have to clean up after my mistakes." I had almost slept with Adrian and then ran off with Dimitri within days. Although in my defense I was broken out of jail and didn't choose who ran away with me. Not that I wouldn't have chosen Dimitri.

"Listen. I am not playing the blame game here. We are all friends… no wait… you are all my family and I love you. I worry about all of you and will be there to support anyone who needs it no matter what. So I don't blame you for breaking out of jail and breaking up with Adrian." Her words filled me with love. "You and Dimitri are soul mates and you belong together. Adrian will find his true soul mate one day too."

"Thank you. And I love you too." I sighed. "What are we going to do for Adrian?"

"We'll think of something, but first I think we need to concentrate on clearing your name, and bringing Daniella to justice for what she did to my family." Lissa's voice broke with the weight of her emotion over her lost family.

She was right we had enough to do to just get back into the Royal Court. Helping Adrian would have to wait until then. "I think we should keep him busy until everything gets righted. Then we will all be able to support him when the realization of his mother's guilt starts to hit him."

"Okay. I think we should probably go take our seats before Christian and Dimitri sent out a search party for us. Besides we should be landing soon." She gave me one more hug. "I trust you Rose and although I wish you confided in me sooner about my sister or brother, I understand why you didn't. I just hope you can tell me soon." She broke the embrace, but held onto my hand as we made our way back to our seats.

The action reminded me of Kindergarten when we used to be line buddies and we held each other's hands wherever we went. Our lives had certainly changed a lot since then. Lissa had lost her entire family and I had gained mine. We both had gorgeous men that loved us and friends that we could trust with our lives.

I was feeling wistful when I took my seat next to Dimitri. He took in my appearance and gathered me into his arms for a fierce hug. "I love you Roza. Everything is going to work out for all of us. Just wait and see."

His words and actions coupled with the time I had just spent with Lissa made the dam holding my emotions break. Traitorous tears starting streaming down my cheeks. "It had better. We deserve to have nice quiet lives after this."

Dimitri smiled warmly at me as he wiped my tears away with his shirt. Feeling raw and uneasy I put my head on Dimitri's shoulder and closed my eyes. He wrapped his arm around to rub soothing circles on my back.

I must have drifted off for a minute, because the next thing I knew we were touching down on the runway in Pennsylvania. I looked up groggy and a little confused until I remembered what had happened to us and what lay before us. The weight of all that we needed to do snapped me into full consciousness.

I looked to my father and mother sitting a seat away from me. "Do we have cars and a hotel yet?"

"It is all taken care of Rose. I have also had our suitcases collected from Louisiana and they will be delivered to our hotel later today." He assured me with a tired smile.

The plane came to rest just outside the small hanger and office. Our pilot came out of the cockpit to open the door, revealing a set of stairs to the tarmac. As I descended from the plane I could see two vans idling next to the office. Peter and Arthur took care of loading Daniella into one of the vans.

"Adrian, would you drive one of the vans to the hotel. I rented a block of rooms. I thought we could order some lunch, get cleaned up and have a nice strategic planning meeting tonight. After a good night sleep you kids can head back to the Royal Court." Abe went in to the office to sign for the rental cars and the rest of us loaded inside.

Mikhail had left the Royal Court car here the day before, so a few of us jumped in with him for the convoy to the hotel.

Abe gave the other drivers the hotel name and address and instructed them to follow him. The hotel wasn't far from the remote air strip. After he got the keys to the block of rented rooms he instructed us to park the cars in front of a side entrance. Luckily our rooms were close to the entrance, so Daniella was able to be brought in without any witnesses.

Dimitri and I were given a room with Lissa and Christian, who were only staying tonight. Peter and Arthur were given guard duty over Daniella and their room was attached to the room that Eddie and Mikhail were sharing in case they needed guardian backup. Abe and Adrian were sharing just for tonight as were Tasha, Janine and Mia.

We were just settling in when there was a soft knock on our door. Dimitri checked through the peep hole and then opened it to let in Abe.

"I have a menu for the local pizza place. Write down your order on this paper and then pass it on. Lissa, I was wondering if you might come to my room after you have picked out your food."

"Can Rose come too?" Lissa asked hesitantly.

"Of course, whatever makes you comfortable?" Abe informed her.

Lissa thought for a few seconds and then said, "Well in that case I would rather you spoke to me here with Christian and Dimitri too."

Abe smiled at her request. Okay just pick your food and I will pass it on to the next room and then I will be right back.

The four of us decided on a large Hawaiian pizza and then Abe left for a minute to pass on the list and the menu.

Christian and I were sitting on either side of Lissa on one of the beds. Dimitri was sitting on the other bed and got up to let Abe back into our room when we heard his knock. Abe came in and dragged the chair from the desk closer to the bed where the three of us were sitting.

"Abe, do you know who my brother or sister is?" Lissa bravely asked him. After the words left her lips she reached over and grasped my hand in her left and held on for dear life. I looked over and saw that she had Christian's in her right hand.

"Yes, I do. I got the results tonight of a DNA test. We had collected some of your DNA and some from two other people that we suspected could be related to you as a half sibling. The results were 90% likely that you indeed have a half sibling. If you need more proof we could probably increase the percentage by sending in the DNA of this half sibling's mother." Abe explained.

"Just tell me who it is Abe. And do I know them?" Lissa exclaimed nervously.

"Okay. Lissa we are 90% sure that Jill Mastrano is you half sister." Abe told her calmly and slowly.

"What? Jill. Jill is my sister? I can't believe this. She isn't much younger than me. I was thinking you were going to tell me I had a 5 year old brother or sister." She laughed incredulously. That only lasted for an instant before her emotions fluctuated again. She sat quietly after that just thinking.

We all respected her need for a minute to process this information. We just sat quietly and waited until she spoke again.

"You were with Jill, is that why? Does she know what's going on? Is she safe right now?-" She babbled until Christian interrupted her.

"Sweetie, one question at a time." He lifted her hand, which was still entwined with his, to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"We went to find Jill and Emily in Detroit and discovered that they had been taken from their apartment. We found out from the Alchemists that they were headed south and we found them in a small town in Louisiana south of New Orleans." I stopped to take a well deserved breath and then continued. "The only problem was that Victor Dashkov had them."

Lissa jumped up at my words and looked stricken. "What?" She yelled loudly.

I jumped up next to her and put my hand on her arm. "Calm down Lis. You need to listen to all of the information before you jump to conclusions."

"Victor saved them. He knew that Daniella's goons were watching us and trying to find out who the child was. He took her to protect her. He had a half dozen hired guardians watching them."

"Victor was helping? I don't believe this. What's in it for him?" Christian finally added his two cents.

"We have not figured that out yet, but so far he doesn't want anything." Abe said shaking his head with his obvious disbelief and confusion.

"To answer your question about Jill knowing, yes she does know. We found a diary that Eric, your father, had sent her at the academy a few years before he died. She had assumed it was from her mother. We found earlier this week that there was a note hidden in the cover from him to her. She also knew we were doing the DNA test."

Lissa was quiet once again while she processed this new information. "Why didn't you tell me earlier on the plane that Jill was my sister?"

"I hadn't found the results of the DNA test until just now. We had also tested Adrian's DNA and he was still a possibility. As you heard earlier Daniella was having relations with both Victor and Eric, so it was entirely possible that Adrian was your brother too."

"So Adrian's not my brother then?" She said it almost as a statement rather than a question.

I didn't know the answer to that question, so I looked over to Abe.

"I am only going to tell you that Adrian is not your brother. I will not tell you anything else without talking with Adrian first." Abe stated adamantly.

"Completely understood, Dad."

Lissa nodded her agreement.

"Victor is sending Emily, Jill and all his guardians on a private jet. It should be landing at the Royal Court airstrip shortly."

"He can't come here. He is a fugitive." Christian growled.

"Victor isn't coming here. He sent all his guardians to protect the Mastrano's, though, so I am not sure what he is going to do now." I stopped and reflected on the last week with Victor. He really wasn't too bad, but then again Victor had fooled me when he kidnapped Lissa and when he escaped from us in Las Vegas.

There was a knock at the door and then my mother's voice said muffled from the other side. The food is here.

Dimitri jumped off the bed and opened the door for Janine. "The food's in your room Abe, where we are having our strategic planning meeting."

Abe turned to Lissa. "I would like to tell the others about Jill during our planning meeting. I think that is information that needs to be included in our planning. Would that be okay, or would you rather keep it a secret?"

Lissa thought about it for a minute. Then she looked at each of us in the room. We were all watching her waiting for her decision. "I would actually like to tell everyone, if that would be okay."

Abe patted her on the shoulder. "Of course that is okay. I was wondering if I could use your room for a minute I need to talk with Adrian alone before the meeting."

"No problem old man." I teased as we walked out of our room and headed toward the food.

"Rose, send Adrian over please."

I went into Abe and Adrian's room and found Adrian already digging into his sandwich. "My dad wants to talk with you for a minute. He's in my room across the hall."

"That's weird. We were in here alone for a while, why didn't he talk with me then?"

I just shrugged. I didn't understand Abe's motives any more than Adrian did.

"Hey, will you come with me?" Adrian asked shyly.

"Me?" I pointed to myself to clarify that he was indeed talking about me, Rose.

"Yes you silly. Will you come with me?"

I looked over to Dimitri who was watching our exchange. He nodded his head subtly.

"Of course I will. Let's go." I looked back to Dimitri as we walked across the room. He smiled and winked at me. My heart fluttered.

The door to my room across the hall was ajar and Adrian pushed it open. Abe was peeking out the light blocking curtains that were pulled tightly across the window, blocking out the afternoon sun.

"You wanted to see me?" Adrian asked lifting one eyebrow.

"Rose, what are you doing back here?"

"Adrian asked me to come with." I explained.

"Okay. Adrian, would you like to take a seat." Adrian sat down on the edge of one of the queen beds.

"Listen, I am going to tell you something that is pretty important." Abe paused. "We did DNA testing to make sure you weren't Eric Dragomir's son." He paused to let Adrian absorb that information. When he looked like he could handle more Abe continued. "What we found is that you are probably not Nathan's son"

"That explains a lot." Adrian joked. "Then who is my father?"

"We are 99.9% sure that it is Victor Dashkov."


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Adrian jumped up from the corner of the bed. "Excuse me?" He responded in utter disbelief.

He looked at me and I tried to make my face as neutral as possible. I had really hoped that Adrian would turn out to be Lissa's brother. I think he would have handled that news a lot better.

"I am sorry Adrian. I was doing testing to find out about the Dragomirs and this was revealed. I thought you had the right to know." Abe said softly.

"No, you're right. I would rather know. I am just shocked that's all. My mother probably knew this the entire time and has been keeping it from me." Bitterness filled his words.

Adrian slumped back on the bed and I reached for his hand. I laced my fingers with his and gave a reassuring squeeze. He looked down at our joined hands and then into my eyes. I felt so bad for him. He looked like a lost little boy.

"I guess we should get back to the food now, huh?" He spoke in a subdued tone.

"We can stay here for a few more minutes if you need to. Actually you can stay as long as you want." I patted the back of the hand that was laced with mine.

"No, I would rather not think about this right now and I could use the distraction. Let's go."

The three of us crossed the hall and joined the others in Abe and Adrian's room. Everyone was laughing and talking while enjoying their food. Peter and Arthur were still on guard duty and Abe made his way toward Eddie and Mikhail.

"Would you boys mind relieving Peter and Arthur so they can have a chance to eat?"

They both nodded and made their way to the door of the room. Shortly after they left Arthur and Peter joined our group and found their food.

"When you guys are done you can bring Daniella her lunch and I want both of you there while she eats it. It is going to involve releasing at least one arm, so I want you to have a weapon for protection. She is excellent at using her power and won't hesitate to use it against you."

"I can attest to that." I added emphatically. The others all nodded, which led me to believe that air deprivation had also been part of their torture.

Adrian grimaced at the realization that his mother had tortured all of us. I decided he had been through enough so I quickly changed the subject.

"This food is so good. I didn't realize how hungry I was." I exclaimed.

"Mmmm. Me too." Lissa added.

There was agreement and sounds of happy humming while food was chewed. I chuckled at how much everyone was enjoying their food. Until I looked over at Adrian, who sat staring at his half eaten sandwich.

I caught Lissa's attention and motioned my head toward where Adrian sat dazed and staring. She got up and leaning against Adrian's back, put her arms around his neck, and gave him a gentle squeeze. She whispered into his ear.

They had a quiet conversation that I couldn't hear, but I could feel Lissa's emotions. He must have told her about Victor, because first she was surprised, then filled with compassion. She squeezed him again and re-took her seat by her food.

"I might as well tell you all what's going on." Adrian spoke loudly, quelling all the boisterous laughter and discussion that had filled the room. Every eye was on him. He cleared his throat and announced, "Victor Dashkov is my father."

There were surprised gasps out of everyone except Lissa and me. Even my mother looked shocked, which surprised me, because I thought my father would have shared that info with her earlier.

Christian got up from his seat and went over to where Adrian sat. He placed his hand on Adrian's shoulder and gave him a manly squeeze. "Anything I can do to help, just ask."

"Thanks."

The room was quiet for a minute as everyone finished their food. The mood had changed from excitement to one of somber reflection.

"Okay everyone. If you could finish up with your food, I would like us to put our heads together and come up with a foolproof plan to clear Rose's name, return to the Royal Court, protect the Dragomirs and keep the rest of us out of danger."

"That's not too much of a tall order!" Christian yelled sarcastically.

This broke some of the tension in the room as everyone laughed. We cleared our lunch trash out of the way as Abe walked around the room passing out hotel stationary and pencils to everyone. Arthur came back into the room to join us for the planning session.

"No idea is a bad idea. We have an uphill battle ahead of us and I want to hear every thought and suggestion you have. It is going to take the brain power of everyone in this room to get this task accomplished." He was speaking to us like we were in a boardroom of a corporation. He was very supportive and persuasive. I could see why he was a successful businessman.

"What I would like is for everyone to break into groups of four people. Discuss your ideas, then after about 20 minutes switch into a new group."

We did as Abe instructed and broke into groups. We threw out ideas and discussed all the pros and cons of each idea. Only the best ideas made it onto the paper. Time flew by as we worked through the room like we were speed daters.

Abe called us to order and we all grabbed a bed or a chair around the room. The papers were collected and he read off a few of the ideas. Some of them included; Bring Daniella to the Royal Court and accuse her of kidnapping Lissa. Bring the janitors signed confession of accepting a bribe in return for his false testimony to the council. Keep Daniella here until we gather more evidence against her, giving Adrian time to examine her financial records for damning evidence. Get in touch with contacts from the Royal families and expose the relative, whose treacherous actions and membership in an anti-government group, led to the assassination of the Queen. Hopefully the families will call out their relative and get them to turn evidence on the secret group.

"Well we have discussed a lot of ideas here tonight. It is getting late. I want you all to get a good night sleep and tomorrow our plan will commence." Abe walked to the door and held it open as we all stood and filed out to return to our own rooms.

I was surprised when I walked in that there were two suitcases left just inside the door. "Oh thank goodness." I breathed out happily, my clothes and my toiletry kit. I wanted to go pamper myself in the bathroom.

Lissa and Christian must have sensed how happy Dimitri and I were to be able to change out of the clothing that we had been wearing since we were kidnapped. We had been wearing it for days, through sleep and torture. I swear my pants could probably walk around on their own by this point.

"Why don't you two take the bathroom first?" Lissa offered generously.

"You sure?" I asked incredulously.

"Absolutely. You really need it more than us." She ribbed.

"Lissa! Are you suggesting that we stink?"

"Oh believe me Rose, I am more than suggesting it." To make her point she pinched her nose with her thumb and finger. When she spoke again her voice was all weird and nasally. "Go. Get in there before I pass out from your stench."

Her voice cracked her up and she and Christian started laughing hysterically. I gave them the stink eye which only proved to make them laugh even harder.

"Okay then Comrade, let's go. Oh and by the way for that we are going to take a very long time in the bathroom. You two might want to find something to do to keep yourselves busy while you're waiting." I winked as I grabbed my stuff and went into the bathroom to change into pajamas. There was a night shirt and flannel pants in my suitcase that I had never even dreamt of wearing while with Dimitri these last few weeks. Tonight they would come in handy or anti-handy as the case may be for Dimitri and me. Sharing a room was definitely going to put the kibosh on any hands on activities.

I never thought I would be so happy to do such mundane things as brush my teeth and hair. It took a while to get all the knots out of my hair and Dimitri offered to help after he had finished his own hair and teeth.

"Careful. It is pretty snarly." I warned.

"Don't worry Roza. I won't hurt you." He brushed my hair off to the side, baring my neck, and lowered his lips to the sensitive skin there. He suckled and nibbled on my neck sending a shiver throughout my body. "Maybe we should finish cleaning up in the shower and good conditioner might help with the knots. " His deep voice was sultry in my ear. He turned and led me over to the shower, where he started the water and checked the temperature. When it was perfect he looked back at me.

"You going to shower with your clothes on?"

"Definitely not! That wouldn't be any fun at all." I reached to the hem of my shirt and lifted it over my head. My pants were off in a flash and before I knew it I was bare and oh- so ready for that shower.

To my surprise I looked up to find Dimitri naked and beautiful before me. "Wow. I swear I didn't even see you move. Did you get gifted with a new power or something?"

"Yeah. Some Moroi get spirit, others get air, but I am the only dhampir with the power of speed stripping. Think of all the possible uses for that skill. A group of powerful Strigoi come up to attack me and I stun them with my scary ability to become naked as a jay bird. Or picture this. On our wedding day I flash my clothes off in the middle of our wedding pictures." Laughing, he wrapped me in his soft warm embrace.

"Well as good as Armani looks on you I do think your birthday suit looks better. So I wouldn't mind hanging that wedding picture over my fireplace." I pinched his tight behind making him jump. His hardness rubbed against my hip eliciting a moan from both of us.

"Come on. Let's continue this in the shower."

I let the steamy water run over my hair and down my body. It really did feel good to get some of the filth from being kidnapped off. As the dirt washed off, more than my skin felt cleansed. Lost in thought, I was brought back with the feel of a soapy face cloth sliding down my back and between my legs.

Spinning in place I took the cloth from Dimitri and slid it down between our bodies to cup him gently. I ran the cloth up the length of him and back down several times. The soap coated him and I dropped the cloth to run my hand on his bare flesh.

"I love how you clean me so thoroughly." Dimitri said in his husky lust filled voice.

"Can't have a dirty boy! Especially one with the power of instant nudity. How embarrassed would my superhero be if he wasn't all shiny and clean when he flashed all his clothes off?" I teased.

"You are so right. Please keep cleaning me." He begged seductively.

I caressed him until he burned for more. He leaned down and took my mouth with a fiery passion. I returned his kiss, which sent an unquenched heat down to the center of my body. I immediately became overwhelmed with a need for more.

"Dimitri. I want you now!" I whispered fiercely.

He kissed me even more deeply than I ever thought was possible. He gently pushed me until my back pressed against the tile. I could feel him like a rock against my stomach and it was driving me mad. He lifted me like I weighed nothing and I wrapped my legs around his waist while our lips were still locked in passion. He gently rocked against me, using the wall for leverage, sending stimulating warmth through me. Without using his hands he gently joined our bodies. I sighed as his love filled me up and my fire turned to pleasure.

Just as I was about to shout Dimitri's name I remembered that we weren't alone and that I needed to be discreet. Instead I moaned my contentment into Dimitri's ear. That coupled with my release sent him over the edge and he joined me in my blissful state.

It was then that I realized he had been holding all of my weight and I carefully separated from him. He didn't want to let go of our closeness just yet and he wrapped his sated body around me from behind as I let the water slide over me.

"Now I feel back to normal. How about you?" Dimitri asked as we slid our pajamas over our clean and dry bodies. Dimitri had a pair of flannel pants, but no top.

"Hey, you can't go out there without a shirt on. I don't think Lissa needs to see how _HOT _you are." I pulled him close to me and placed a kiss on his pectoral muscle. "She might not be able to control herself as well as I can." I placed another kiss on his other pec, and then licked my way down to his naval.

Dimitri laughed. "Well then I best put my shirt on. I would hate to see Lissa out of control.

"Maybe you could take it off after we turn the lights out and let me practice some more of my amazing self control."

"You've got yourself a deal. As your instructor and mentor I could never pass up an opportunity to teach you self control. It would be blasphemy to even suggest ignoring such a valuable lesson." He tugged a t-shirt over his head covering his lean muscular torso hiding it from my view.

Opening the bathroom door brought a blast of cooler air from the room into the steamy bathroom. I grabbed a corner of his t-shirt and tugged him toward the bed. "Let's go professor. My homework awaits."

As we came around the corner Lissa and Christian stared at us from their fully dressed and relaxed position leaning against the headboard. They had some newer movie playing on one of the movie channels. I would like to say I knew which one, but I really hadn't had time lately to even think about going to the movies never mind seeing a preview on TV.

I started to feel a little uncomfortable and wondered just how loud Dimitri and I had been in the shower. My cheeks started burning with the embarrassing thought that the two of them had heard us. I tried to ignore them as I climbed under the covers.

"Christian and I were talking and we think that the guys should share a bed and the girls should share a bed." Lissa announced primly stopping me in my tracks.

Her words coupled with my embarrassment clouded my thought process. "Huh, ah…okay. Um, which bed do you want?" I asked sheepishly starting to get out of the bed.

This set them off laughing again. Boy those two sure had the giggles tonight. "We totally got you. I can't believe you fell for that one." She couldn't even finish poking fun at me because she was laughing too hard.

I finished climbing back under the covers and patted the bed for Dimitri to join me. I scoffed at the giggling fiends, "The bathroom is all yours. Brats!"

This set them off yet again, but they were able to collect themselves enough to grab their bags and head into the bathroom. I looked over at their bed and realized that they had tried to cover up what they had really been doing while we showered by remaking their bed. It might have worked if they hadn't tucked the bed skirt in between the mattress and the box spring along with the sheet. I stifled a laugh and decided to keep my observation to myself.

Dimitri obliged my earlier request and removed his shirt after he had climbed into bed. Pulling the covers up I nuzzled my head into his chest and got comfortable. I was asleep before Christian and Lissa finished in the bathroom.

I wasn't quite awake yet, and I definitely refused to open my eyes. I was in the in between place where you can't sleep anymore, but you're not quite ready to get out of bed. I could feel Dimitri's warm presence pressed up against my back. Now I surely was not getting out of bed, because I was in heaven. There was a soft knock on our door and I could hear my mother announcing breakfast.

"What time is it?" I whispered to no one. I wasn't sure who was awake in the room.

"9:00." Christian's whisper came to me from across the room.

"Ugh." I groaned cursing the not so early hour.

"I hear ya."

I could understand the wake up knock. Abe probably wanted to get the group up and ready for their return to the Royal Court and get our plans in motion.

I carefully rolled over and pried open one eye. Dimitri was staring at me. He smirked when he saw my attempt at fighting against waking up.

"You are so cute." He kissed the one eye that I had refused to open. "Come on my sleepy head it is time to greet the day." With that he ripped the covers off me sending a windy chill down my warm sleep filled body.

I screamed, "Dimitri! You can be so mean sometimes."

"That is exactly what all my sisters told me." His look turned from playful to wistful at the mention of his family.

He looked lost, so I kissed the tip of his nose, bringing his thoughts back to the here and now. "Okay my lady. Up and at 'em."

"Up and atom?" I asked confused.

"You've never heard that before?" He asked incredulously. "It was just something my mother used to say to us when she woke us in the morning. Up and at 'em love. It's a brand new day."

"No, when the house mother woke us in the dorm it was more like 'Get up! Breakfast is in 10 minutes.' And 'I wish you kids would learn how to set an alarm.'"

"We'll just add that to the list of things you will have to get used to with me." He smiled at the thought.

"Now you're the one who's cute." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a bear hug.

"Okay you two are sickeningly sweet in the morning. You're going to give me cavities. I better get up and brush my teeth." Lissa grumbled in her half sleep state as she stumbled out of bed heading toward the bathroom.

"Hey I don't want to hear it from you. I had to put up with you two love birds for the last year. While I had to hide my relationship you were flaunting yours." I complained.

"You two are fine. Don't change a thing. She'll be less grumpy when she comes back from the bathroom. You just have to cut her a break. We aren't used to this daytime schedule like you guys are. It took us forever to fall asleep last night, even though we didn't get any sleep yesterday."

"Sorry. I forgot about that." I acquiesced. "I will lay off on the lovey stuff. No need to provoke her."

We got dressed quickly and made our way across the hall to Abe's room. I could smell the bacon as soon as I opened the door. Looking around the room, I was surprised to see everyone else already there.

"Come on in and grab some grub." Adrian said invitingly. He seemed to be in better spirits this morning.

We joined the group and filled our plates with the smorgasbord of eggs, bacon, English muffins, sausage and French toast.

"Eat up gang. We have a lot of work to do and we are launching our first idea right after breakfast."

We finished our food and then the group returning to the Royal Court gathered their belongings and prepared to leave. We waited in Abe's room until they returned to say their final goodbyes.

"Now you all have our numbers programmed into your cell phones in case you need anything. Don't hesitate to call. Even though we can't be there in person I still have ways of helping you." Abe counseled the group.

"Good luck guys. I hope to see you soon." Mia sniffled as she gave us all hugs.

"You too." I said as I returned her hug.

Lissa came over for a hug next. "I love you and I am going to miss you." She did not let me go after she finished talking. She held me in the hug for a few more seconds.

"I know Lissa. I feel the same way."

She let me go, and turning, accepted Christian's proffered hand. The two joined the line making their way out the door and down the hall. We followed them into the parking lot, and with a last wave, they pulled onto the road headed to the Royal Court.


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

As soon as they were out of sight my grief weighed heavily on my soul. I took out my new cell and dialed Lissa's number.

"What did we forget?" She asked without saying 'hello' first.

"Nothing. I just miss you all already. Oh and I wanted to tell you to keep a close eye on Adrian. He, more than any of us, has had a shocking few days."

"No worries Rose. We will take care of each other." With that I heard a chorus of 'you bet', 'damn right', and 'we sure will' from the others in the car.

I already knew they would, but that made me feel a little more at ease.

"Stay safe."

"You too"

"Bye Rose."

"Bye Liss."

Dimitri put his arm around me and we walked together back into the building. Abe was waiting at his door and he motioned for us to join him in what was now his and my mother's room.

Tasha had moved into the room attached to the one where Peter and Arthur were still guarding Daniella. Dimitri and I kept the same room, but now we had it to ourselves.

We walked in and took seats on one of the double beds. Everyone else was already in there, because they hadn't delayed outside like I had. Arthur was taking his shift guarding Daniella and Peter had joined us in the room.

"Okay gang. We are going to lay low here until Adrian and Eddie are able to make some headway. I plan on ordering in our meals, because the last thing we need is to be spotted by someone from the Royal Court and turned in. We all know that at this point it would mean instant death." Abe cautioned.

"Have you gotten anything from the Alchemists about Daniella or any of the others in her 'secret society'?" I asked my father.

"They are working on it. I had asked them to check in on her back in Detroit when you first mentioned her as a player, but now that we have a better understanding of her capabilities they are digging a little deeper." Abe clarified.

Tasha, who had been rather quiet asked, "Anything from the Strigoi network, Dimitri?"

"They aren't really good with backtracking. They are better at spying and tracking any movements that are targets are making presently. I had asked them to keep an eye on some of the more prominent members of the 'secret society', but haven't gotten anything useful as of yet." Dimitri said shaking his head.

"Okay, well for our parts this is really just a waiting game. Go keep yourselves busy. I am going to see if I can get anything useful from Daniella herself. Since she seemed so fond of torture, maybe I'll return the favor." Abe chuckled to himself as he crossed the room and opened the door to signal the end of their meeting.

"Can I join you?" I quickly jumped in with an explanation as I got a weird look from the others. "I mean when you question her, not when you torture her."

Abe seemed to contemplate my request for a minute before he responded. "I can't seem to find any reason against you joining me, so yes."

I turned to Dimitri and kissed him goodbye. "I'll meet you back in the room."

He took my hand and squeezed it. "Be careful. Even though she is tied up and under guard she can be spiteful. Take everything she says with a grain of salt." He cautioned.

"I know. Thanks." I squeezed his hand back and then let go to follow Abe down the hall. I looked back to find Dimitri standing in the middle of the hall watching me walk away. He winked and I smiled at him. God he was so gorgeous. It was still hard to believe he was mine.

I mouthed 'I love you' and he smiled and mouthed 'me too' and then touched his palm to his heart. I nearly bumped into Abe as he stopped to knock on the door. When I turned back Dimitri had gone into our room.

Peter, who had returned to the room a moment before, immediately opened the door as if he had been standing there waiting for us. And maybe he had. I was surprised to see Daniella bound to a desk chair, and gagged. Abe motioned for me to take a seat across the room, out of Daniella's sightline.

He walked up to her and said, "Good morning. I am going to remove your gag and ask you a few questions. I suggest that you cooperate as you are not in any position to do otherwise." With that word of warning he removed her gag.

As soon as the gag was out of her mouth Daniella started ranting at Abe. "How dare you hold me here against my will? This treatment is degrading and I will have your head for it. Return me to the Royal Court at once!"

"I understand your concerns. What I suggest is that you work with us, tell us what we need to know and you will be returned to the Royal Court as soon as is possible." Abe attempted to appease her with his offer.

"I shall not work with you. You are treating me like an animal and you will not get anything from me." Daniella said defiantly.

"I thought you might prove to be difficult." Abe nearly whispered to her as he reached out his hand. Arthur took something out of a bag and placed it on Abe's open palm. It was a pair of pliers.

I was behind Daniella so I could not see her face, but I heard her gasp. I could only assume the surprise in her tone was reflected on her face. "What do you plan on doing with those?"

"I think the real question is do you really want to find out?" Abe warned.

Daniella was quiet and Abe started walking toward her taking the pliers into his grip in preparation for use.

"No. Don't. I'll talk. What do you want to know?" Daniella said resignedly.

Abe breathed out in what I can only assume was relief that he didn't actually have to torture her. He slid the pliers into his back pocket and put his hands on his hips. While he was thinking of his first question, I reached over to a table and grabbed a pad of paper and pen. I figured the least I could do was take notes.

"Why don't we start with the accident that killed the Dragomirs."

"That wasn't a question."

Abe instinctively raised a hand as if to slap her across the face and then stopped himself. "Could tell me how you orchestrated the Dragomir car accident?"

"That was easy. Eric had been at the Royal Court doing some business and we happened to be eating at the same restaurant. I overheard that he was going back to Montana early the next day, picking up the kids from the Academy and having a special night with his entire family." She took a breath before she continued. "It was perfect. I flew out there right after lunch, got directions to the Academy and scoped out the road between town and the school. I found a stretch of the road that was deserted and heavily wooded. Later as Eric traveled the road with his family I swerved my car toward his. I basically drove him off the road. Then I left them there to die." She sounded so detached and cold. She honestly had no compassion whatsoever.

Abe just stared at her. He was dumbfounded. "My daughter was in that car."

"She was just collateral damage. I wasn't trying to hurt her, but if she had stayed dead my son would probably be a lot happier today. So it is too bad that Princess Dragomir lived and saved her."

Abe didn't hold back this time. He slapped her so hard her head snapped to the side.

"That wasn't very nice. For that I am not telling you anymore."

Abe looked at Peter. "Gag her and don't feed her any lunch. Maybe she'll get hungry enough to share later this afternoon." Then he looked right at Daniella. "You're going to be needing blood soon. Too bad you're not getting it without doing a little sharing first."

Abe motioned for me to follow him out of the room. I looked down at the empty paper on my lap. I had been too shocked at Daniella's cold indifference to her violent act to write anything. I put it down on the table and I jumped up and followed my father out. Once in the hall I looked to him for guidance as to what happened next.

"We need more than that, but for now I want you to give Adrian a call and instruct him to search for financial records linking Daniella to Montana on the days surrounding the accident." He gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Are you okay? You look rather pale."

"Um, yeah. I guess I am just shocked at how cold and calculating she is. She talked about the accident like she would talk about squishing an ant at a picnic." I looked up at his face which was filled with concern.

"I shouldn't have let you come in to the room. I'm sorry."

"No. I'll be fine really. I think I am going to go talk with Dimitri for a little while and maybe take a nap before lunch."

The door to our right opened and Dimitri was silhouetted in the door frame. "Did I hear you say my name?"

I laughed. "Yes I did. What are you doing in my mom's room?"

My mom appeared behind Dimitri. She was sweaty and dressed in exercise pants and t-shirt. I looked back to Dimitri and realized he looked similar.

"What are you two doing?" I asked puzzled.

"It's been awhile since I did any exercise, sparring or real fighting. I needed the workout. So while you guys were busy I asked Dimitri to come over and work with me." My mom explained. "We're done now. So I'll let you have him back. Thanks Dimitri."

"Anytime Janine." Dimitri stepped into the hall and put his arm through mine. "Come on Rose. I think you need some practice too." He laughed as he almost dragged me down the hall to our room.

His enthusiasm was infectious and it helped get my mind off the experience I just had with Daniella. "I am glad you are in such a good mood." I laughed.

After we were in our room with the door shut I turned and gave Dimitri an evil grin. "What kind of workout did you have in mind Comrade?"

"I like the way your mind works, but I really do think you need to practice. So change into some workout clothes, please."

I groaned, but really I enjoyed working out with Dimitri and today of all days it would do me some good. I made my way to my suitcase and started digging out my sweats. As I stripped off my pants my cell dropped onto the floor. It was then I remembered I needed to call Adrian.

"I have to call Adrian and give him some info to research. Something his mother admitted to Abe about running Eric Dragomir off the road killing everyone in the car except Lissa. Hopefully he can find some financial records to prove she was there."

Dimitri looked shocked and somehow at the same time not shocked. "I knew she was capable of great acts of evil, but it still surprises me. She reminds me of a Strigoi"

I dialed Adrian and waited until he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Adrian, did you guys get in to the Royal Court without a problem?"

"Sure did. Mikhail didn't even get in trouble for taking the car for two days. What's up that has you calling me so soon?" His voice was warm, but I could still hear a hint of concern in it.

"You caught me. I wanted you to look in your mom's records and see if you can place her in Montana around the time of the Dragomir accident. Look for plane tickets, hotel stays, a rental car and maybe even restaurant receipts." I said it all matter of fact, like I was talking about someone else other than his own mother.

"You got it. I have been looking through more recent stuff since I got back. I found some things I think we can use to prove the kidnapping from Louisiana to Texas. Did you want me to drop this and go back a few years to the time of the accident?"

"No Adrian. Just get to it sometime soon. If you do find anything can you text me, or better yet fax it over. This hotel has to have a fax. I'll get you the number later. Sound good?"

"Sounds good." I could hear him sighing.

"You okay?" I was concerned that this was weighing heavily on him. Searching through his mother's things looking for damning evidence had to be hard.

"It's just a little weird. It's the middle of the night here and I am wide awake. Even the servants are asleep here so it is a little creepy" He sounded like a little kid afraid of the dark, even though it was broad daylight outside.

"I know what you mean. Call me anytime you feel lonely. I mean that too. I'm not just saying it to say it."

"Will do. Take care." He said reassuringly.

"You too." Before I could say anything else he was gone.

I put my phone down and finished changing into my sweats. Dimitri had moved some of the furniture out of the way to give us room to exercise. This hotel was too old and small to have a workout room, and even if it did Abe wanted us to stay in our rooms.

We fell into our old routines fairly quickly. Dimitri had a slight advantage in the beginning after his warm up with my mother, but soon he lost the edge as I warmed up and he got a little tired. We got in quite a few good hits and kicks on one another and we had parried back and forth for about an hour, when there was a knock on the door.

Dimitri went to answer it while I grabbed a towel from the bathroom. It was time to quit anyway, before we were so tired that we got really hurt. The man at the door explained he was a desk clerk and he had received a fax for me.

Dimitri was just closing the door when I bounded out of the bathroom and grabbed the paper right out of his hands. I ran across the room with my treasure and I read it over quickly and then unable to believe my eyes I read it over again.

"Oh my God! Dimitri, he did it! Adrian found a car rental receipt putting Daniella in Montana at the time of the accident that killed me and Lissa's entire family." I smiled triumphantly. We need to tell Abe."

As I started toward the door Dimitri caught me about the waist. He put his face right next to mine and said, "I think what you need first is a shower."

"You do? What about you stinky? Don't you need a shower too?" I teased.

"I thought I could join you. After all you do have such a difficult time washing all of your hard to reach places and that happens to be one of my specialties."

"An offer that I cannot refuse…lead the way."

We took our time in the shower. The water felt great. The company was even better. This time we weren't quiet, we didn't need to be. It was just the two of us enjoying and exploring each other.

When we finally were clean again our fingers and toes were pruned and we were very happy. We got dressed and figured it was probably time for lunch.

"I am starving. I wonder if Abe stopped over with menus." I said as I pulled on my shirt.

"Hopefully Abe just ordered for us, because we obviously didn't answer the door."

"I'm all ready. I just need to run a brush through my hair. Then I will go check if we have any lunch and deliver this fax." I spoke louder as I entered the bathroom continuing our conversation.

"No need to yell." Dimitri said from right beside me making me jump out of my skin. I turned and swatted his arm.

"Don't do that!" I chastised him. I quickly brushed through my hair and then handed him the brush so he could do his own.

We walked out into the hall and knocked on Abe's door. When he answered I could smell the pizza that he had ordered for lunch. "I hope some of that is for us. We're starving."

He stepped aside and welcomed us in. "Of course. I tried to stop by and ask for your preferences, but I heard that you were busy." I could feel my face warming into a bright crimson at his words. "I mean I guess you were sleeping and didn't hear me." He chuckled and took a seat next to my mother.

Tasha and Arthur were sitting together finishing their lunch. They tried to pretend they didn't hear Abe's taunt, but it was obvious by how hard they were trying to act nonchalant that they had heard every word.

I tried to ignore my father's attempts to rile me up and I brought the paper to him. "Adrian faxed this over. It establishes that Daniella was in Montana and rented a car in the town that is closest to St. Vladimir's and close to where the accident claimed the lives of Lissa's family."

Abe grabbed the paper and headed out of the room. "Wait here. I'll be right back. The door had barely closed when Abe was back. He looked upset as he yelled, "Daniella's escaped. Peter is knocked out, but he's alive. Tasha and Janine please go care for Peter. Rose call everyone at the Royal Court and warn them. Arthur and Dimitri come with me.

Everyone left the room with their assignments. I pulled my cell out of my pocket and texted everyone at the royal court. 'DANIELLA'S ESCAPED. DEETS UNCLEAR. WATCH UR BACKS.'


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Ten seconds later my phone rang. When I answered it I couldn't even get out hello when Adrian exclaimed, "What do you mean my mother's escaped?"

"I don't know anything yet. Peter was unconscious and my mother and Tasha are with him. My father, Arthur and Dimitri went off to find her. That's all I know right now. That's what Details unclear meant. Didn't you get that?" I didn't mean to sound exasperated, but that's how I felt and it came out whether I wanted it to or not.

"How did she get free? She was under constant guard." He definitely sounded worse than he had an hour ago when I thought he sounded like a scared little boy.

"Adrian, listen to me. I don't know anything, but I promise to call back when I do. Okay?"

He sighed heavily. "I guess I have no choice. Fine. Call me back as soon as you hear anything." He was gone before I could give him my word. That was so annoying. He had to stop doing that.

I was finished with my assignment so I made my way across the hall to see if Janine or Tasha needed anything. Abe and Dimitri were already there and Peter was just waking up. Arthur came in from the attached room next door with the first aid kit.

"What happened?" I asked to no one in particular. Dimitri came over to whisper to me.

"It looks as if somehow Daniella got free, and she stabbed Peter with a pair of needle nose pliers. It is in his shoulder, so it shouldn't have knocked him out. She must have deprived him of air until he passed out. She somehow got the keys and took one of the vans."

I didn't know what to say, so I just stared at him with my mouth wide open.

"Hopefully Peter can tell us more when he gets his wits about him." Dimitri whispered just to me.

We were all gathered expectantly as Peter started to remember why he was lying on the floor with pliers sticking out of his shoulder. Janine and Tasha were talking quietly about removing the pliers and cleaning the wound. Arthur was moving between them and the bathroom gathering supplies they would need to cleanse and sanitize it.

Abe was pacing back and forth. I could tell he blamed himself for being complacent. He had left Daniella with only one guard which allowed for her to overpower him and escape. Somehow she had gotten his pliers out of his back pocket and he hadn't known.

Peter started talking and Abe stopped his pacing and crouched down next to Peter's head. "Wait. First tell us how we can help you feel better, then tell us what happened."

"No. I'm fine." Peter rasped. "I want to tell you what happened." He took a breath and then when there were no arguments he continued. "It happened right after Arthur left to go eat lunch. Daniella deprived me of air and I couldn't breathe. I tried hitting her to break her concentration and that's when she stabbed me with the pliers. Her concentration never broke and it wasn't long before I passed out. I don't know how she got that hand free to stab me."

"That's not all. She got one of the vans. She's got to be a half hour away by now." I added solemnly.

"Or half way to the Royal Court by now." Arthur added.

"I texted everyone of her escape. Now I need to tell them about the van. If you'll excuse me." I left and went back to my room. I texted everyone again. 'BEWARE DANIELLA STOLE A VAN AND SHE COULD BE THERE IN A HALF HOUR.'

This time I was ready when the phone rang. "Adrian." I said into the receiver the second I answered it.

"I am with Mikhail. We are gathering all the evidence against my mother and bringing it to the head of the guardians. We're hoping they will lock her up now and then we can bring everything to the Council tonight when everyone wakes up." He sounded breathless.

"I will let you go then. Keep me informed." Before he had a chance to hang up on me I hung up on him.

Dimitri joined me then. He climbed onto the bed and reclined beside me. His back against the headboard. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Mikhail and Adrian are going to see the head of the Guardians to see if they will take Daniella into custody with the evidence they have, before the Council is in session tonight." I explained.

"They have the power to detain without the Council's decree. That is what they did to me when they captured me after Lissa changed me back from a Strigoi."

"That was a slightly different situation. You killed Guardians that night. Up until this point Daniella has been above reproach. I am just hoping the evidence will give them pause."

"Peter is doing better. They got the pliers out, the wound cleaned and bandaged. He is eating some pizza in bed."

I jumped up, "Come with me. I need to tell Abe what's going down at the Royal Court." I slid off the bed and tugged at Dimitri's arm for him to join me.

"I just sat down." He said lazily.

"Fine. I'll go alone, but won't you feel bad if Daniella is just lying in wait in the hall to grab me. She is just waiting until we get lazy. Like you're doing right now. Leaving me alone and unprotected." I said like a drama queen trying for the best actress award.

"Rose, you could beat me up. I truly would be more worried for Daniella, but if it makes you feel better then I will come with you." He slid toward the edge of the bed and stood up, taking my elbow, he led me toward the door.

After all my drama it turned out that the hallway was completely deserted. I crossed the hall and knocked on my parent's door. Janine answered and let us in. Abe was sitting in a chair in the corner. My mother gave me a look that said she wasn't sure what to do with him and I understood with that look that my father was upset about the pliers. He blamed himself.

"Hey dad. I just got off the phone with Adrian. He and Mikhail have gathered all the receipts and other financial records and brought it to the head of the Guardians. They are hoping to convince him to detain her upon her entrance, so she doesn't get the chance to hurt anyone else."

My father just nodded and made an 'hmmm' sound. I had never in our short relationship seen him berate himself. Even after I had been taken by the Strigoi he blamed himself a little, but he didn't let it stop him. Not like this, he didn't even seem to be functioning at all.

My mother motioned us across the room. She whispered, "He just needs a few minutes to himself. Can you two come back later?"

"Sure, Janine, we understand. Knock if you need us for anything." Dimitri reassured her.

We walked across the hall and back to our own room. When the door had closed safely behind us I said, "Wow! What the hell was that?"

"Rose, haven't you ever felt like that? Like you let down a friend and maybe if you had done one thing better it wouldn't have happened." He was using his soothing teacher's voice.

I didn't even need to think about it for a second. "When Mason died. I played that scene over and over in my head trying to think of one thing I could have done differently that might have save his life." It made me sad and frustrated just remembering that day.

"I remember that day too. I saw it differently though. I saw an inexperienced student Guardian who took down two very strong Strigoi. You did everything you could have done, but it didn't stop you from obsessing over it for weeks." He gently explained.

"I understand. I need to cut my dad a break and give him time to obsess over what happened today." My words brought a big smile to Dimitri's face.

"Your father is a person too. He needs time to heal his invisible wounds, just like Peter needs time to heal his visible ones."

I pulled him down on the bed with me just as my stomach gave a loud growl. We hadn't gotten to eat the pizza with all the excitement of Daniella's escape and Peter's injuries. "I'm starving." I whined.

"Me too. How about if I call Janine and see if she will bring the cold pizza to us? That way Abe won't be disturbed." He suggested.

"I'll agree to anything as long as I get food."

"Anything?" Dimitri teased. He reached over and lifting my shirt placed a delicate kiss on my navel.

I shivered at his kiss. It brought on feelings that were almost stronger than the hunger I felt. Now I wished I had eaten a bigger breakfast. I moaned at the injustice.

Dimitri laughed. "Relax Roza. I was just giving you a preview of what you're going to let me do to you after I get you that pizza that you'll do anything for." He pulled out his phone and called my mother. A few minutes later there was a soft knock at the door.

I jumped off the bed and ran to open the door. My mother passed the pizza box to me and with a smile turned and headed back to her room. "Thanks." I called after her. I shut the door and flounced on the bed. Spreading the box between ourselves we each grabbed a piece and leaned over the box to eat it.

"This is the best pizza ever." I said with my mouth full.

"This is the worst pizza ever, you were just that hungry. It's cold and has the consistency of cardboard." Dimitri corrected.

We ate the terribly good pizza and then tossed the empty box to the floor. We snuggled into each other's arms and succumbed to a digestive coma. We weren't sleeping, or having sex, we were just laying there being together. It was nice. It probably would have been nicer if my stomach wasn't so bloated with too much pizza.

My phone started ringing and I hated to move to answer it, but I couldn't not answer it either. Not with so much going on back at the Royal Court.

I glanced at the caller ID just as I pushed the send button. It registered who was on the line just as I heard his voice. "One of my Guardians just called me from the Royal Court. He told me Daniella has been brought into custody for suspicious involvement in a number of crimes." Victor said accusingly.

"I didn't even know that Victor. Your employees sure report back to you quickly."

His anger diffused slightly at my statement. "I am sorry Rose I thought you were keeping things from me. Forgive me."

"No I understand you are worried about Jill." Victor wasn't told that the DNA test had been done and that we knew Victor was not Jill's father, but he was Adrian's. I wasn't going to tell him that either.

"Yes, but I feel comforted that she is protected by such a talented group of Guardians. You will keep me informed from here on then?" His tone was one of challenge.

"I am sure by the time I know you will already know, but if that is what you want… I will call you."

"Yes, thank you Rose. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Victor."

Dimitri waited until I had hung up. "I was just thinking…Does Lissa know that Jill doesn't know about the results of the DNA test confirming who her father is. Perhaps Lissa would like to be the one to tell her."

"Good idea. I need to call her anyway. I'll suggest it."

I did give Lissa a call and let her know about Jill. She told me that indeed Daniella was safe behind bars. She had been given a hearing in front of the council tonight first thing.

The hours until nightfall passed slowly. My father came out of his funk and seemed to bounce back. Peter got stronger and was moving around quite well. We gathered in Abe and Janine's room and I jumped into Lissa's head to give everyone a live broadcast of what was taking place.

The Council was called to order and Daniella was brought into the courtroom among 'boos' from the audience. She was led to the defendant's table by Damon Taurus, her cousin. The courtroom was quieted by the same elderly Judge that had presided over my hearing, and the proceedings began.

"Daniella Ivashkov you are here today so that this Council can decide if there is enough evidence to continue to a trial. Ms. Kane, please begin.

Iris Kane stepped forward. "Your honor, Council members. There has been much evidence brought to my attention regarding Daniella Ivashkov's whereabouts when several crimes were being committed against members of our community. She has been charged with kidnapping, vehicular homicide and providing false testimony to frame Rose Hathaway for the Queens murder." She walked forward to where a large screen was set up. She nodded at someone off to the side.

Suddenly the screen was lit up with a copy of Daniella's bank statement showing a large transfer of money. Then the screen split and there was a financial statement from the maintenance worker that she had bribed showing the exact same about of money being deposited. "Ladies and Gentlemen this document I hold in my hands is a signed statement from the maintenance worker stating that Daniella paid him to lie about the time her son arrived at Rose Hathaway's room on the morning of the Queen's murder." At that statement an audible gasp tore through the room. "The bank statements behind me prove this monetary exchange took place."

The screen changed again as Iris walked bagged copies of the evidence to the Council members for their examination. "The actual time Adrian Ivashkov arrived at Ms. Hathaway's room was 7:00, giving her an alibi when the murder was committed. As you all remember the murder was determined to have been committed between 7:00 and 8:00. Based on this evidence I move to drop the charges against Rosemarie Hathaway."

Another collective gasp swept through the audience. The Council looked over the evidence presented so far. The Judge spoke at that time. "Let us continue with the evidence and give the Council time to mill over this new evidence. Ms. Kane, please continue."

"Two days ago Rosemarie Hathaway, her parents Abe Mazur and Janine Hathaway, Dimitri Belikov, Natasha Ozera, and two of Mr. Mazur's Guardians were kidnapped by men hired by Daniella Ivashkov." Iris moved to stand in front of the screen again where an image of a check was on the screen. "As you can see this is a check written to a known mercenary group in Daniella's handwriting and signed by her." The image flipped to show a copy of a lease. "This is a lease for a building in Texas leased to the defendant. It was used to house the kidnapped victims and torture them. This next one is the credit card statement for the plane that Daniella took to fly to Texas to participate in the torture."

She paused to walk all the bagged documents over to the Council table for them to examine closely. When she returned to the screen the image changed again. "This is a receipt for a rental car rented from a small airport in Montana. The next receipt is one for the plane chartered from an airstrip about an hour from here directly to that airstrip in Montana. This next image is the newspaper article detailing the car accident that claimed the lives of 3 of the 4 remaining Dragomir line. If you would be so kind as to notice the date of the accident. Daniella arrived in Montana one day before the accident and rented a car. This next receipt is for the hotel room that is located in the town just 20 minutes from where the deadly accident occurred." The courtroom had to be quieted again so Iris Kane could continue.

"This is a receipt for the plane that Mrs. Ivashkov chartered back to Pennsylvania. We have contacted the airport and requested the planes itinerary." The image changed again. "The plane took off just two hours after the accident occurred. That gave Daniella just enough time to cause the accident and drive to the airport an hour and a half from the accident site." The image changed again. "This is the report from the car rental agency. They document the mileage when a car is returned. The car has 160 miles reported. The distance between the airport and the hotel is approximately 60 miles and the distance from the hotel to the accident site is 10 miles. Therefore I surmise that Ms. Ivashkov could have driven out to the accident site and back twice and then back to the airport."

"Objection!" Damon stood up. "Conjecture. This narrative should not be included in evidence."

"Fine I remove my narrative, but the documents speak for themselves." Iris countered.

"Remove Ms. Kane's statement from testimony." The Judge ordered. "Ms. Kane, do you have any further evidence for the Council?"

"Not at this time your honor."

"Mr. Taurus, do you have anything you would like to say in your client's defense?"

"Your honor, my client has just returned home and I move to postpone this hearing until we can gather evidence supporting my client's innocence."

"This is a hearing Mr. Taurus. You can gather your evidence for the trial. There will be a trial I assure you. Council members, are you ready to vote?"

Just like at my trial they were ready, and just like at my trial eleven hands went up.

"Guardians, escort Mrs. Ivashkov to a cell for holding until her trial." The gavel went down and the courtroom stood up. Everyone was talking at once.

Christian hugged Lissa and they were both hugging Adrian, then Mia joined in and it was a big group hug. I was just about to pull out of Lissa's head when a commotion erupted in the aisle. Daniella had stolen the air from her two Guardians and as they went down she broke free. She just had her hands in chains and not her feet. She moved quickly down the aisle to where Lissa was standing and in one quick move had her prison chain wrapped around Lissa's throat.

I couldn't breathe, and my neck hurt so badly. It was all I could do not to pass out from the combined pain and lack of oxygen. I was grasping at the chain, trying in vain to loosen the silver links wrapped tightly on my neck. The gray sparkles moved in from the periphery of my vision blocking out Christian and Adrian and Mia. I had tunnel vision and I could only see what was right in front of me. Daniella. Daniella, who was choking the life right out of me. My vision dimmed altogether and I could feel my knees going out from beneath my body. Just as I was about to hit the ground I passed out.


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

I opened my eyes to find that I could breathe fine and my neck didn't really hurt. Dimitri had tears in his eyes as he gathered me into his arms for a hug.

"Are you okay? What happened?" My mother asked concerned.

I thought for a minute and then it hit me. "Lissa!" I screamed. "Daniella attacked her! I need to call. Wheres my phone? I need to call now." I frantically searched my pockets for the telltale lump. Dimitri handed me his and I immediately dialed Christian's cell. It rang and rang and then went to voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message and dialed Adrian's cell. When voicemail picked up I hung up and tried Mia.

As it rang and rang I feared the same result. Then she answered all out of breath. "Hello?" I could hear shouting and noises coming from her end of the line.

"Mia, what happened? Is Lissa okay?" I shouted so she could hear me over the din.

"She will be. Christian took her to the hospital to be checked after Daniella nearly choked the life out of her. If it wasn't for Adrian she would have."

"What did Adrian do?"

"He tried to pry her off of Lissa, but when that didn't work he picked up a chair and whacked her in the back of the head with it. She went down and took Lissa with her. Then we were able to loosen the chains and free Lissa."

"Where is Daniella now?"

"She was really hurt. They took her to the hospital under full guard. Adrian disappeared. I'm not sure if he went to the hospital or not."

"Thanks Mia. Keep me informed okay?"

"No need my friend. You can come home. After Daniella attacked Lissa all charges against you were dropped. It probably helped that Daniella was yelling 'You should have died in that car accident with the rest of your family. That was my plan. Now I will kill you just like I killed the Queen and your little friend Rose is next' the entire time she was choking Lissa."

I sucked in my breath. "Really? I was in Lissa's head and I don't remember any sound at all."

"Well believe me, the rest of the Royal Court heart it loud and clear. So when are you coming home?" She asked happily.

"Not sure. I'll call you. Thanks for the update and hope to see you soon."

When I hung up the phone I couldn't wait to tell everyone about the strange events in the courtroom. I think it made Abe feel a little less guilty about Peter, when he learned that Daniella had gotten away from the guards at the Royal Court and nearly choked Lissa.

We decided to pack up our bags and head back to the Royal Court. With my name cleared we could go back without persecution. When we were alone in our room Dimitri pulled me in close. "You scared me in there Rose. It reminded me of the time I was driving you to rescue Lissa when Victor kidnapped her, and Kenneth stole her breath while you were in her head." He looked me over to make sure I was really alright. I did have some scratches where I had clawed at the imaginary chains that had been wrapped there. "I couldn't bring you out of it, no matter how hard I tried."

I hugged him. "I am so sorry that I scared you. I am okay now, right? And we are going back to the Royal Court. I am nervous and excited, but as long as you're with me I know I'll be okay." He leaned down and took my mouth with his. His kiss promised me that everything would be okay.

We loaded our bags into the van and Abe took care of checking us out of the hotel. It took about an hour to travel to the Royal Court gate, but for me it felt more like an eternity.

I had been on the run for a month, always looking over my shoulder, living out of a suitcase, living in constant fear of losing the people I cared about. It would be nice to go back to my room, with my jeans and sweatshirts, and feel safe.

At the same time this has been the most exciting month of my life. I became friends with and got to know my mother and father, I got engaged to the love of my life and the man of my dreams and fantasies, and made some good friends in Tasha, Arthur and Peter. Not to mention the relationships that blossomed between my mother and father and Tasha and Arthur.

I really hoped that all the good things that blossomed under the adversity would stay the same when we returned to normal life at the Royal Court. Only time would tell.

We had no trouble getting through the gate into the Royal Court. Abe was given a townhouse to rent for my mother and Peter. Tasha took Arthur back to her place and I asked Dimitri to come with me back to my room, even though he had his own.

I was surprised to see Lissa and Christian walking across the courtyard from the hospital heading toward her dorm. I ran up to them and gave each a hug. I hugged Christian a bit more boisterously than I did Lissa. She still looked a little tender even though she tried to convince me she was fine.

"Rose, what are you guys doing here? Did they clear your name?" Lissa was astonished at my presence.

"Yes. It must have happened after you were taken to the hospital. Based on the evidence and all the things Daniella said to you in front of a hundred witnesses, they dropped the charges against me." I was relieved and it showed in my voice and in my body posture.

She hugged me this time, a little harder than I would have hugged her. "I am going to rest for a bit, but I want to see you soon. Understand?" She hedged.

"Understood!" I replied. Then Dimitri and I said our goodbyes and headed off to my room.

My room seemed small and cramped. Especially with 6'7" Dimitri in there with me. "We need a bigger room. Don't you agree?"

"I think we need a house, but we should decide what we are going to do with the rest of our lives first. Then we can decide where we are going to live." He wrapped his arms around me from behind. "And we still have that little matter of making you officially my wife." He kissed down the side of my neck.

"I love you Dimitri Belikov." I turned my head and kissed him on the cheek.

"And I love you Rosemarie Hathaway."

As always we couldn't have a private moment without my cell phone interrupting. I glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Adrian. "I should take this. It's Adrian." I explained to Dimitri.

"Hello Adrian."

"Hey Rose." Adrian let out a choked sob.

"Adrian, what's wrong?" Concern for my friend overwhelmed me. I wanted to reach through the phone and give him a big hug.

"I killed my mother." He barely got that out before another choked sob wracked him.

"What? How?" I asked incredulously.

"She died from her injuries I inflicted in the courtroom. I guess I didn't know my own strength." He sounded lost and depressed.

"Oh Adrian. You were protecting Lissa. You didn't mean to hurt her that bad." My attempts at cheering him were failing miserably. "I'm in my room if you want to come up here." I offered.

"At the hotel?"

"No. At the Royal Court. I have been cleared of all charges and I am back in my room."

"I think I will come up then. I'll be right there." He was sounding better already with the prospect of a friend.

"Okay, see you soon. Bye." I hung up and then gave a guilty look to Dimitri.

"I better go bring my things back to my room now. Call me later." He gave me a passionate kiss and left my room.

About ten minutes later a very distraught Adrian arrived at my door. He knocked softly, almost like he didn't want me to answer the door. He actually looked surprised when I did answer it.

"Come on in." I held the door open and stood aside. I barely had the door shut when he grabbed me up in a big hug. His tears starting falling in earnest and soon he was lost wailing, then keening and finally all that he had left were silent racking sobs.

I rubbed his back and spoke softly. I repeated reassuring words over and over. We sat on my bed for hours while I cared for my friend. When he was emotionally drained and nearly falling asleep on my bed he excused himself to go home. I argued for him to stay with me, but he insisted. Within the next few days Adrian informed us all that he was leaving to go spend some time with his biological father, Victor. He had hopes for that relationship and I truly hoped he wouldn't be disappointed. Adrian and Robert Doru were all Victor had left and I hoped the last few years had truly changed him. Adrian deserved a father he could count on.

The next week brought Jill and Lissa closer together. Jill had already assumed Eric was her true father based on the diary and the note and of course her mother, but she thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure that Lissa derived from telling her the official news. The two spent a lot of time together getting to know eachother and through Lissa, Jill was getting to know the father she had lost.

After the DNA documents were brought to the correct officials Lissa was given her rightful seat on the Council. One of her first motions was to drop all charges she had originally brought against Victor Dashkov for kidnapping. She was being selfless in this request only thinking of Adrian. Somehow she convinced the rest of the Council and Victor was a free man, and free to return to the Royal Court with his son.

I teased her relentlessly that she was using spirit to get her own way, but she assured me she was not compelling them. They just seemed to like her ideas and her arguments and she could often sway the members who were on the fence. She didn't let this new found power go to her head though, which was good.

Her second order of business was bringing in and questioning all the members of Daniella's secret society. It was important to determine if they were still a threat to Royal Court security. They tracked down and questioned every person captured on film that night by Eddie. This took several weeks, but they discovered that they had no worries. It seems without Daniella the zealot leading the group it fell apart. After their questioning many of the members inexplicably moved away from the Court, many returning to their families around the world.

Life at the Court returned to normal, even with Lissa stirring things up on the Council. It was actually a little boring, but boring is what everybody needed to heal and move on with their lives. Well except me and Dimitri of course. We finished off the summer with our whirlwind romance and finally made some decisions about our future. Decisions that would keep us pretty busy.


	31. Epilogue

Epilogue

Jill returned to St. Vladimir's Academy to finish out her high school years. Now that she was from a royal family she was able to take the school's jet as often as she wanted. She visited the Royal Court as often as she could and she spent her holidays there with her mother and Lissa and Christian.

Adrian announced publicly that Victor was his father. Using his element spirit Adrian healed Victor every few years when his disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, would come out of remission. Luckily Adrian was tested and it was revealed that he did not have the hereditary condition. He flourished and with the positive relationship he had with his biological father, a relationship that had been non-existant with Nathan Ivashkov, Adrian grew into a strong, capable and content man. He became very interested in the politics of the Royal Court and was a suave and persuasive public speaker. He spent a lot of time with Jill when she came to visit Lissa, which made Jill very happy. After her graduation their friendship grew into a loving and lasting relationship. He eventually accepted the role as King of the Royal Court. A position that had remained vacant following Tatiana's murder. Due to rules of the royal Moroi court that position would not have been available to him as an Ivashkov, but as a Dashkov it was. As King he affected many changes in the Royal Court, supporting Moroi self-defense, increasing the Guardian age to include a mentoring year to be completed in the year after high school, and giving the non-royal Moroi voting privileges in the election process for the King or Queen.

Daniella's tarot reading had been right. A man who she loved was going to betray her and cause her death. He was also going to change the world as they knew it. It hadn't been Victor, or Eric. It had been her son, Adrian.

After Lissa's near death experience Christian decided life was way too short and he proposed to Lissa. She liked her life at the Court and her new seat on the council. So she asked if they could stay at the court. Christian agreed as long as they could be together. He also surprised her by stating when they married he wanted to take her name instead of Lissa taking his. He felt that there were enough Ozera's already out there and besides none of the family really recognized him because of his parents. If he changed his name to Dragomir he could leave that past behind him and he and Lissa could increase the Dragomir heirs. Lissa was touched and thought it was an excellent idea. Christian and Mia paired up in business and opened a defense studio to teach Moroi how to use their elements to defend themselves. They also taught them how to use silver stakes and how to fight hand to hand properly. Despite all the negativity toward Moroi defense in the previous discussions, Christian and Mia had full classes and were doing a good business.

Eddie and Mikhail were assigned to Lissa and Christian as their guardians. This was a wonderful change for Mikhail, who had been punished for the last few years doing filing duty because he had gone after his soulmate Sonya Karp. Dimitri had his contacts looking for Sonya and we promised Mikhail that one day we would find her and return her to a Moroi. Eddie helped out Christian and Mia, sometimes teaching new techniques and sometimes substitute teaching classes. With all the time they were spending together a relationship between Mia and Eddie started to blossom.

With Christian well on his way to starting his own life, Tasha made the decision to go back to hers. Arthur decided to join her. They moved out of the Royal Court and Tasha re-opened her self-defense studio and she and Arthur taught classes together. They eventually married and started a family of their own.

Dimitri and I set a date for our wedding. We decided to have a small wedding here at the Royal Court and then have a bigger wedding in Russia. My parents were going to attend both weddings. Olena was so excited when she heard the news that she had practically started making arrangements for their wedding before they even got off the phone.

In their many discussions for their futures one fact kept ringing true, they wanted to be together always. If they accepted Guardian jobs, they most likely would work for different families, or for the same family and opposing shifts. The risk of losing each other was too great a burden that neither one could handle. So the best and safest choice was to accept teaching positions back at St. Vladimir's Academy. They were even assured married housing, so they weren't stuck separated in the dhampir student's dorms. Dimitri still had a ton of money left from when he was a Strigoi and had inherited all of Galina's amassed fortune. He bought Rose a small house in Russia, down the street from his mother and the rest of his family. The other house he bought her was a big log cabin in the mountains of Montana. It was close enough to St. Vladimir's Academy to go for long vacations and weekends off. They couldn't have children of their own, but they decided that they would adopt in a year or two.

My parents decided to move in together and continue their relationship. My mother quit her job and she moved with my father to Turkey. He had a few houses in the Middle East, Russia and Europe that he used for business and she traveled with him and became his personal assistant. He bought a new house in Montana. One they visited often to spend time with Rose and Dimitri. Thank God they decided they were too old to have any more children, so I didn't have to worry about brothers or sisters. Peter was still working as my father's guardian.


End file.
